


What if I fall

by WingedLadyColette



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, F/M, Hybrid - Freeform, Werewolf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:07:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 93,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22673026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingedLadyColette/pseuds/WingedLadyColette
Summary: The night of the full moon sparks the beginning of a connection between an old vampire hybrid and a young werewolf runner. Their destinies intertwined after a fateful night together. Klaroline
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Hayley Marshall/Elijah Mikaelson
Comments: 165
Kudos: 337





	1. Looking for Help

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

There is this routine that she took up a few years after she activated the curse.

She spent the first few schooling years being bullied by this boy. His name was Elliott Smith. He would always grab onto her hair and pull it as hard as he could while laughing into her little, crying face. He would do it all the time. No one did anything. Not the teachers, not her parents, not his parents. No one. This had just become her life. She would do everything that she could to run away from him or hide behind her friends when he came around.

This time, she was up at the top of the spider web out in the backside of the playground. She had gotten into a fight with Elena and of course Bonnie chose her side and they both ran off to play together for a while until they all forget that they were fighting and it all goes back to the way it was before.

When she wasn't paying attention, he snuck up behind her on the web and grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled. She's not sure if it was the surprise in the action, as she didn't see him sneaking up on her, or the actual strength in which he pulled, but she flayed and screamed and threw herself around in pain, surprise, and fear. She must have either scared him or knocked him back - it all happened so fast, but one second after it started, there was a hard yank on her hair and then she was staring up at the sky with pain radiating along the back of her head, neck and shoulders.

She's not sure what happened, other than that she somehow knocked him backward where he hit his head or neck just right that when he hit the ground in the center of the spider web, having fallen through the bars, he never got back up again. She doesn't really remember the look on his face, but she remembers looking down at his body, her eyes locked on his little, clenched fists with long strands of blond hair tangled between them.

Caroline got it out of her aunt, years later, exactly what had happened. He apparently hit the bar behind him wrong and somehow flipped into the web, spraining his neck, only to fall down seven feet and break it completely. He died almost instantly.

He was only nine-years-old. Same age as Caroline.

And just like that, he was dead. And Caroline triggered her curse.

It was an accident and Caroline didn't get into trouble. But she was sent away anyway to live with her mom's sister. Turns out, her mom was the same as she was, and her aunt had triggered the curse long ago too. Her mom knew about it but knew that she couldn't stay at home. Not with a man like her father. He wouldn't be able to understand why his little nine-year-old was turning into a monster every full moon. He just wouldn't get it.

So her aunt, Cassandra or Cassie, took her into her home in a small town in the middle of the country yet in the middle of nowhere in a small town that had miles of open land around it and taught her all about the change. About how the hours leading up to her first change. But no matter how much they talked about it, she wasn't prepared for her first change. The agony, the flurry of memories, the fear, the primal animal instinct, and the thirst for the kill.

Being chained up in her aunt's basement with her aunt as they both went through the change together was a nightmare on repeat every single month. Sometimes they stayed all night, thrashing about, howling and snarling until they change back and sometimes they escape and kill a crazy amount of local wildlife, waking up miles away from home and having to find a way back without getting caught. Thankfully, while she was still young, Caroline didn't have to worry about breaking her chains. She was still so small and young that she wasn't able to.

Cassie told her all about the supernatural world. Told her about vampires and werewolves and witches. She told her about how wolves should usually travel in packs, but not her. She didn't trust anyone. She figured that she wouldn't be able to fit into any pack because she's too paranoid. She never told Caroline why she was so paranoid, but she was.

And when Caroline was fifteen, her aunt vanished and Caroline became a runner. She lived on the streets and did everything that she could to survive.

She thought about going home, briefly, but maybe it was her aunt's paranoia getting to her or realizing that if anyone knew the truth for certain - i.e her parents - that her aunt was missing, she would be brought back home and that couldn't happen. Her father would learn that she was a supernatural being that he hated so much.

So that wasn't going to happen. No one had to know anything. Her aunt was a recluse anyway and Caroline kept in touch with her parents through texts and calls. That was it.  
That Caroline could keep up with. The lies she could fabricate if her parents needed it, and they didn't really. But the older she got, the more distant they got. She just didn't have anything to say to them about her life. Nothing she could tell them about. So they spoke less and less. Now it was maybe once a week she spoke with each of them.

Being on her own though, made her even more aware of the full moon and its effect on her. So after over a year and a half on the road, Caroline found something that she thought helped her with the change. Caroline found bed partners. It didn't really matter who he was, so long as he could tire her out before the transformation so that her wolf wouldn't get out of control. Without being at her aunt's house in the middle of nowhere Iowa, she didn't have a safe place to turn. So she would scope out an area for a while, then when the full moon came, she would find a partner for the night, leave before the moon reached its apex and the change began and would be on her merry way.

She finds that she doesn't travel as far or kill as much depending on how physically drained she is leading up to the painful drain of changing. She created a system and she liked it.

She had seen many vampires over the years. Well, "many" is an operative word. She's seen more vampires than werewolves. Other than her aunt, she only ever saw one other werewolf and he wanted nothing to do with her. Vampires, if they didn't know anything about werewolves, never thought her more than a human. She's had to run for her life from a few vampires before. She became good at running away.

Today was one of those days. It was early evening and she still had plenty of time before the moon reached its apex to hunt for her prey. That's when she met him.

She didn't know his name at first. Handsome, blond hair and blue eyes with stubble and a charming English accent. She could sense him from the moment he walked in through the door of the pub. The whole room seems to fall for him in a moment as his entourage surrounded him protectively until he waved his hand dismissively and they spread out, trying to be inconspicuous but Caroline knew better.

He didn't have to sit right next to her, close enough for her to not feel the normal heat a body would exude to know that he was a vampire. She could just tell by the way he held himself, looked around at everyone and everything. Like they were all his playthings. He was a vampire, and he was an old one.

"Hello there, little wolf," he says, waving the bartender over and getting himself a shot of whiskey. His voice is low and gravelly and when he smiles at her, it's like a predator cornering its prey.

"I don't want any trouble," Caroline says slowly, knowing from experience, the older the vampire the worse the trouble. "I'll leave."

He turns slightly in his chair to look at her. "Now why would you do that? I just got here." He sips leisurely at his drink, looking at her curiously. "An interesting night to be out and about, you know."

Caroline isn't sure how to answer that. She's not even sure what's going on. Either the vampire knows what she is and is either terrified or angry, or they don't and they either want to eat her or don't care about her. The interest of this vampire is very different. And very alarming. She can't even begin to imagine what he could want from her. A bite from her could kill him, yet he's talking to her like they are old friends.

"I'm not here to cause any problems," Caroline repeats. "I was just here - " she cuts herself off, but it's too late. He's already staring at her expectantly.

"You were here for?"

"I'm... looking for someone," she admits reluctantly. She's trapped. If she plays nice, maybe he'll let her leave without this becoming a bloodbath. She's painfully aware of all the eyes of his followers spread out around the room watching her with dark, wrathful eyes, daring her to make a bad move so they can swoop in for the kill.

He purses full lips, tilting his head to the side. "And who might that be, love? Perhaps I can help you find them?"

"No one," Caroline says, then sees a darkness flash in his eyes, not liking the answer as it seems like she's brushing him off. She quickly elaborates, "I'm not looking for anyone in specific, I mean. I'm just looking for someone. Someone to help me for tonight."

He stares back at her, watching her closely. "Looking for someone to chain you up tonight?"

Now that was a loaded question if she's ever heard one. And judging by the look he was sending her, he knew it too. It was a double entendre. At least to her.

Caroline feels a tug on the corner of her lips, finding amusement in his wordplay but still acutely aware that her life is still in real danger. She can't let her guard down around this old vampire. It's too dangerous. She has to be careful.

"In a manner of speaking," Caroline admits. She tucks a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear. He stares back at her, waiting for her elaborate. She sighs, scratching at the smooth skin in front of her ear. "I have a routine that I follow that helps me through my transformation. Or at least, I've fooled myself into thinking that it does. I just want to go through the motions and find my place tonight. That's all."

The man's expression is amused and curious again, twisting so his entire body is facing her with his right elbow propped up on the bar and his fingers pressed into the side of his head as he stares at her. "And what is this routine, if you don't mind me asking?"

Caroline forces her hands down onto her lap as she studies the handsome face of the vampire next to her. "Why do you want to know so bad? Are you going to kill me or something?"

"You haven't done anything wrong," he says, an innocent lilt to his voice. "Why would I want to hurt you?"

"Vampires and werewolves hate each other?" Caroline guesses, not sure why this stranger was being so elusive. He should just tell her what he wants or just let her go.

His eyebrows raise toward his dusty blond hair as he finishes the last of his drink and nods for the bartender to fill it up again. "I suppose that could be misunderstood. But I'm not here to harm you either, love. Simply curious as to why a little wolf would go snooping around here of all places. I'm starting to suspect that you are simply a little wanderess without a place to lay your head."

It's the truth. She couldn't deny it, yet somehow it hurt hearing him say that. That she didn't have anywhere to go. Her aunt up and vanished without a trace, her mom treats her like a dirty little secret and her dad was smart enough to pick up that his daughter goes out every full moon so she couldn't go home for fear of him realizing the truth about her. It may take him time to realize what exactly is going on, but once he does...

Caroline doesn't want to think about it. Her father loves her, she knows he does, and maybe she will be able to explain it to him one day but not now. He wouldn't understand while she doesn't have the words to explain it. Werewolves are rare, she's come to learn. There isn't a lot left in the world. This strange old vampire knows this, which is probably why he's grilling her. But she just doesn't understand why he's not afraid, especially tonight. Or at least cautious. He's as cool as a cucumber. And there is a strange twinkle in his blue eyes.

"I don't think it's necessary to call me out like that," Caroline mumbles, swirling strands of hair around her finger. She catches his eyes following her movements with this infuriatingly amused look on his face. His smile is like a purse of the lips which makes his dimples pop out.

He laughs, flashing straight white teeth, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down in his throat. "I apologize, darling." He waits for a moment, watching her with interest. "You are the first werewolf that I have come across in some time, love. So I have to be honest, I am intrigued and want to know more about you."

Caroline's eyebrows pull together, turning slowly to face him. He seems like he isn't going to kill her. If he's just looking for a chat, she could do that.

"I'll tell you," Caroline says slowly, twisting enough so that her knees brush against his. "But please..." She brings her eyes to meet his, kneading her hands on her lap as her awareness of the rising moon grows more apparent. "Please let me go. I don't want to hurt anyone or anything, really. But if you want to have a long-winded chat, can we have it tomorrow? Or at least go for a run or something while we do it?"

He raises an eyebrow. "May I ask why the need to be heart healthy? Werewolves don't get sick easily or have things like heart problems. Why do you need to do all of that?"

"I use exercise to help curve the strength of my wolf side," Caroline says, leaning in close. It's not really a secret, but it's not something that she just wants to tell everyone. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but she's still just a sixteen-year-old girl talking about using sex to keep herself from killing indiscriminately while she's a wolf.

He looks a mixture of amused and interested. "And that works?"

Caroline shrugs. "For me, it does. At least I think that it does."

He leans in a little bit closer, red lips pursed a bit. "And why are you here? Looking for other early evening runners?" His eyebrows quirk up.

"Not for running," Caroline says slowly, staring into his eyes. "Running is good for you and all, but I'm interested in something a little bit more... fun." She stares into his eyes, hoping  
that he would understand without her having to just say it. It takes all of her self control not to blush like crazy. It makes sense in her head, wearing herself out, and also satiating her sexual desires, but saying it aloud to someone, especially a very attractive old vampire, makes it sound... well, dirtier than anything else.

He stares back at her without any shift in his emotions before he starts to smile slyly, his blue eyes darkening in understanding. "Ah, I see. Naughty little wolf playing a very adult game." He shakes his head slowly, studying her face closely. "You are interesting, little wolf." A half-smile crosses his lips. "So, you've come here to find a dashing young man with low inhibitions so that you can use and throw him away to fulfill the ache and temper your wolf... my, what an interesting take."

Caroline shrugs her shoulders, squirming a bit in her stool. "I'm sure others have thought of it. But listen, I only have a limited amount of time. I need to find somewhere to hold out for the night, so can I go now?"

"If you need to find it, then that means that you still have to find something," he says, resting his other arm across the back of his chair. "I could help you out."

Caroline twists her head to the side, staring at him. "You're going to offer me a place to turn? Why? You're a vampire. Werewolf bites kill vampires."

He smiles, dimples popping out on his cheeks. "I am not so worried, love. You should take me up on my offer." His eyes lock onto her and she is captivated by the power and assuredness in his gaze. He's so strong, so in control. He appears larger than life. "I think this is going to be a mutually beneficial transaction."

Caroline feels the smile tug at the corner of her lips. "You're offering me more than just a place to turn, aren't you?"

He downs the drink placed next to him before standing up and offering his hand for her to take. "Come, little wolf, let me look after you."

Caroline turns to look out the window, judging the waning daylight and feel for the moon. She turns back toward the strange old vampire, sees his confident, sultry smile, reaches out and takes his hand. "Are you sure you aren't worried about me biting you?" Caroline asks, rising slowly.

His smile widens a bit. "No, sweetheart. I'm not." He pulls her hand until she's pressed up against him. He leans down, picks up her backpack, her only worldly possession and leads her to the door.

***

That night is a blur. Most of the time, Caroline enjoys it in the moment, but the pain of the turn usually makes her forget most of it. She becomes so hyper-focused on the feeling of turning that she forgets the bit of enjoyment she had in the hours leading up to it.

But that night was different. Needless to say, she barely made it through the front door to his huge mansion before their lips were locked into place against one another. And for the hours that followed Caroline remembers throwing this beautiful, alluring stranger around his own house, ripping off his clothes and indulging in his beautiful body.

A small part of Caroline was afraid that he would kill her. She knew he was a vampire and that if he wanted to, even on the night of a full moon where she is so much stronger, she worried that he would be able to easily overpower her, but as soon as they walked into that house, he was kissing her lips and her body as if he was a fervent believer and her body was an altar to be worshipped. And she felt it. She's had good partners and bad ones over the last few months, and she usually forgot most of it from both of them.

But she remembered him. They had sex for hours until she had to tear herself away from his slightly cold body, red lips, and thirst for sex as strong as her own. It was like the two of them held the same primal need. Caroline hasn't been with a vampire before, so she doesn't have anything to compare to in that regard, but he definitely beat out all her other partners. And she couldn't help but notice that his body would warm up until it was as hot as her own just by being pressed up against it for hours on end.

Along with continuous, rigorous movement.

But at first, it was a touch weird, in the back of her mind, to notice that his body was noticeably colder than her own. But it warmed up so quickly she forgot about it soon after.

His hands sliding across her hips and thighs, teasing her with every touch, those sinful lips kissing his way up and down her body. This was definitely not his first time, she knows, but it's proven with how much he teases her without that dark, dangerous glint having never left his eyes as she practically forced herself on him, snarling that he had better stop teasing her or he was going to regret it.

Not the smartest thing to do, order around a haughty, old ass vampire who seems like he's used to getting his way. But instead of drawing out his anger, she watches, hovering over him with her hips grinding into his jeans that he was somehow able to keep on despite having lost his shirt about ten seconds into walking into the house and stripping her completely bare, through long, sweat-drenched blond hair and lusty eyes as the veins of hunger wash up his cheekbones to his eyes. The sclera darkens dangerously as the blue of his eyes becomes enhanced in the dim light of the fire next to them.

Somehow, one of them found the control inside themselves to light the fireplace somewhere in the middle of their almost coitus while in the large living room of the vampire's mansion.

There is a zing of fear that slices through her at the look, wondering if he was going to bite her and rip her head off but after a slow second of him just admiring her with those starved, blackened eyes, he flips them around, kicking off his pants and giving her exactly what she asked for with a desire laced rumble in his throat, "Whatever you ask, love."

Caroline lost track of how many times they came. She wanted to stay in this moment forever, so much adrenaline and all those good hormones filled her brain and made her forget, if only for a few hours, what that night meant.

They rode out the last of their most recent high when the change started. Caroline was sitting on his lap, arms and legs wrapped tightly around him as he lovingly, gently kissed her shoulder and neck, pushing her sweaty blond hair out of the way so he could kiss back and forth from her jaw to her arm while her face was buried into his neck, breathing in his delicious scent. It was faint, even as he worked up a sweat, but if she breathed in deep enough, she could smell something faintly that smelled so good.

She didn't remember him smelling this good in the pub. And she was mighty distracted the rest of the night. But no matter how hard she tried, she could barely smell whatever that nice smell was.

That's when the change started. Her back cracking first, so hard and so sudden that she threw herself off of him to writhe on the floor in pain. The scream that ripped through her wasn't human. Having been a werewolf for about seven years now made her change come very fast. He must have been able to tell because he easily scoops her up in his arms as she twists and contorts as her bones break, and brings her down the hall and into another room where he lays her onto the floor and walks out without so much as a touch of enhanced speed. He really wasn't concerned.

Caroline has come to find a sick sense of relief in the swiftness of her turn as she grew older. She would prefer the swift, painful snap across every bone in her body as opposed to the long drawn out one crack at a time. Being a wolf is strange. Strange in the way that she remembers what happened, but as if it was happening to someone else. The wolf is in control and if she focuses hard enough, she can direct some of its attention but it's hard to do and she's never really had anything to focus on.

She remembers, briefly, tearing the room apart as there were no windows and the one door leading out seemed impossible to break, but then the exhaustion of the night was too much for her body and the wolf curled to sleep amongst torn pillows from the couch and strewn papers from the desk and relinquished control back to Caroline within about thirty minutes. A record for her wolf.

Caroline becomes semi-conscious again feeling the man run his hand through her hair slowly. The long night of sex coupled with changing into a werewolf and back so quickly has left her body both aching and weak. If the old vampire wanted to kill her, now would definitely be when she was weakest. But instead, he gently cooed something she doesn't remember, scooping her back into his arms and carries her out of the room. She remembers being placed onto something soft and his gentle warmth wrapping around her.

She could barely move but used what minute bit of strength that remained to bury her nose into his neck, hoping to breathe in that sweet smell one more time before sleep consumed her.

She doesn't remember if she did.

After sleeping for two days straight, Caroline snuck out while he was meeting with someone in another room. She found her bag in the foyer, her flip flops which were next to it and ran out the front door. Someone, at some point, dressed her while she was sleeping. She was in a large, loose long-shirt that was probably the old vampire's as it had a very faint smell to it, and a pair of leggings from her bag seeing as her only shirt left was ripped to shreds. He ruined her shirt so she stole his. Equal trade. It was gray, long-sleeved and soft.

She kind of loved it.

Caroline got to the bus stop and waited for the next bus to take her anywhere. As fun as it was, and how tired she was, it was time for her to move on. She was a runner after all, and running is what she did.


	2. Thank you for Tonight

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline races through the alley. The rain is pouring, wetting down her hair and clothes and making her backpack weigh like a hundred pounds. She skids to a stop, pressing her back against the brick of the building behind her. She looks both ways down the alley, straining her eyes to see if she can see any shifting shadows in the darkness, holding her breath. All she can hear is the heavy rain pelting everything in the nearby radius and a nearby car drive by. She waits a few moments, heart pounding in her chest, before finally letting out a slow, deep breath.

She outran him. The rain is covering her scent and the sound of her retreating form. She takes a moment to catch her breath before heading down the rest of the alley, keeping her head down as she steps back out on the street, trying to find her way back to civilization. Or at least more people to be able to hide amongst. At least until she can get the hell out of town.

She can't stop looking over her shoulder, but she doesn't see him again. She must have outpaced him. Which is definitely a relief.

She wraps her arms around herself. The mysterious man from last month's shirt was so warm but completely drenched makes it feel paper-thin. It's a soft henley shirt. It's odd. For how rich he was to have such a cheap shirt. What an interestingly weird guy. Aside from the fact that he was an old vampire that knew that she was a werewolf and was willing to risk sleeping with her on the night of the full moon where she is at her strongest and the probability of getting bitten by her was so unbelievably high yet he didn't even seem the least bit concerned. Which was very, very weird.

She kind wished she got his name.

Her teeth chatter together and her wet hair clings to her face. The water is cold as it sinks into her bones through her skin - which feels paper-thin. Caroline looks up, through the thong of people and stops, someone, standing in the rain stares back at her. At first, her reaction was to run, her mind telling her that it was her vampire pursuer, but when sultry full lips purse smile back at her, she recognized him immediately.

She makes her way, carefully, through the throng of people until she was in front of him. His blond hair darkened and flat against his skull. Of course, he isn't bothered by the cold rain as an undead vampire as old as time itself. She's not sure how he managed to find her, but as she stops right in front of him, staring up into his eyes and seeing his smile spread a bit more, she was happy he was there.

"Need a place to stay tonight?" He asks, offering her a sultry smile, eyebrows raised up toward his hairline.

Caroline hugs herself a bit closer, still freezing cold. She is unnecessarily close to him. He doesn't radiate a lot of heat, but any tiny bit of it warming her in this freezing cold is an absolute blessing. As if able to read her mind, he reaches out and rubs her arms in a mixture of both comforting and suggestively.

"Tonight isn't the night of a full moon," Caroline tells him, stepping closer to absorb more of his heat.

He smiles, dimples popping out. "How many days until the full moon?" He asks, but it looks like he already knows the answer.

"Three."

His smile widens a little bit more. "Then I guess you'd better come to my hotel with me, don't you think, love?"

Caroline shivers harder, stepping closer still until there is less than an inch between them. "Are you really willing to put up with me for three days? A girl with nothing to her name except a heap of emotional baggage who's holding on by the skin of her teeth? A girl who talks a lot whose only redeeming quality is her great attitude and pretty smile? You're willing to deal with that for three whole days?"

He laughs, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "You think so lowly of yourself, darling. And so lowly of me to think personality quirks are enough to scare me away."

Since his arms were almost around her already, she steps into them, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around her and despite the cold rain pelting them, he was nice and warm. He doesn't seem to mind her invading his space - which makes sense seeing as they spent hours last month wrapped around one another - as he rests his cheek against her forehead. His five o'clock shadow tickles her a bit, making her smile.

"I was thinking more along the lines of annoying you so much that this ends with one of us dead and the other moving on with his life as if nothing happened. And in this scenario, I'm the dead one," Caroline says, nuzzling into his chest.

A low laugh rumbles in his chest as he runs one of his hands over her soaked hair. He's so warm yet her shaking doesn't seem to bother him. Caroline pulls back for a second, wondering if she really did hear what she thought she heard. She hugs him close again, pressing her ear to his chest and closing her eyes to listen hard. She can hear a strong, even heartbeat in her ear. She can't believe she didn't notice before. And by before, she means last month. Her heart was beating off the chain that she wasn't even paying attention to his.

"I'm not going to kill you, love," the man says softly.

Caroline's not sure she believes that, but she's not going to argue with him at the moment. "I never realized that you have a heartbeat. I thought the vampire's heart doesn't beat anymore now that they are dead."

He wraps his arm around her shoulders and leads her down the street. "Well, that's because you're just a baby wolf. There is still so much you have to learn about vampires, my love."

***

Her "friend" is staying at the nicest hotel with the presidential suite with four rooms attached to it. So obviously he's well off with lots of old money at his disposal, so lucky him. The bathroom alone was bigger than her bedroom at her aunt's home. It was posh and marble and beautiful. The stranger just stood back, following her quietly as she admired her surroundings. She went from room to room "oooh"ing and "ahh"ing, that self-satisfying smirk never leaving the stranger's face.

Caroline, soaked to the bone, turns to her friend, leaning against the doorway of the bathroom with his arms crossed over his chest. Her smile meets his and she asks, "Do you want to shower first or me?" It was only polite to ask.

"I can't catch a cold, love," the stranger says, dimples popping out on his cheeks. "You can go first."

"Point taken," Caroline says, finally pulling her water-logged backpack from her shoulders and lowering it to the floor of the bathroom. "Thank you for letting me stay over..." She blinks, remembering that she didn't ever get his name. "I never got your name," Caroline says. She turns on the huge marble shower with multiple shower heads before turning back to look at the stranger. "What do I call you?"

"Klaus," he says. "And do I get to know your name, love?"

Caroline flushes, not sure if there is any way for her to be able to get used to being treated like this by this beautiful man. Klaus. What a wonderful name. Of course, this beautiful man would have a beautiful name to go with it. Naturally.

She walks up to him, placing her hand on his chest and pushing him out of the room past the threshold of the bathroom and reaches up to close both of the double doors. "It's nice to meet you, Klaus. I'm Caroline." She sees that haughty half-smile cross his full, pale lips before closing the door in his face.

She takes a moment to appreciate the big, beautiful bathroom before she slowly peels her clothes off her body and drops them into a pile on the floor before walking up to the shower, reaching into it to feel the temperature of the water, then adjusting it warmer and warmer until it's scalding hot. Then she steps into it, letting the hot water burn her skin. 

She was still cold from the rainwater and this was what she really needed to warm up. At least werewolves don't get sick easily or she would have had hypothermia by now or could expect a terrible cold tomorrow.

Thankfully, the closer to the full moon she is, the harder it is for her to get sick or maintain sickness. So at least she has that going for her.

Her skin hurts and for a few minutes she is able to bear the pain until she has to turn down the water a bit. She capitalizes on the first opportunity in too long to have an actual shower. She takes her time, appreciating that her vampire friend left his shampoo and body wash in there for her to use. Surely, not his intention but she's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. So what if it was for men? He smelled good, which is all that matters.

Once she spent long enough in the shower, she finally turns it off and steps out, gathering up her clothes and wrapping herself up in a fluffy white towel. She picks up her bag and heads for the door. He may not get sick, but it's got to feel gross being in formerly wet clothes now significantly drier than comfortable. She opens the door and steps out.

Klaus is standing by the window talking away on the phone. He's standing over by the huge windows overlooking the bustling city. The rain is still coming down hard that the lights of the city are reflected against the darkness of the window. He turns around to the sound of her opening the door and smiles when her eyes meet his as she steps out of the nice, warm bathroom into the cold bedroom, immediately regretting her decision.

"Yes, thank you for all of your hard work so far," Klaus says, sipping from a glass he has in his other hand with a strange, dark red liquid. "We're going to have to keep in touch, mate." He hangs up the phone without a second thought and turns completely to Caroline, red lips parting more into a smile. "Hello, Caroline," he purrs her name in a way that makes her shiver. No, it's got to be the cold air. "Done showering?" He gives her an agonizingly slow once over, appreciatively.

Caroline blushes, jabbing her thumb toward the bathroom. "Go shower, old man, or we might just experience the first vampire to get a cold." She can't even look at him her face is so flushed. Hopefully, he'll just think that it's the hot water and steam that is making her cheeks so red. If she's lucky. If not, well, it is what it is.

Klaus walks slowly across the room until he stops next to her, running his finger across the line from her shoulder to her neck to push some stringy, wet hair behind her shoulder. Her skin burned hotter in that thin line from the tip of his finger than the hot water. Goosebumps appear across her skin which he no doubt sees. She feels his smile at the side of her head he wraps his hand around the other side of her face, leaning in and kissing her jaw.

"Thank you for saving me some hot water, love," he whispers in her ear before slipping past her and into the bathroom.

"Tease," Caroline grumbles, rubbing at the junction of her neck and shoulder, flushing deeply. She holds the towel a little bit closer, suddenly feeling very vulnerable in her skin.  
Klaus laughs, slipping into the bathroom and closing it behind himself. Caroline shakes her head, dropping her clothes into a pile on the floor by the bed and laying her backpack down next to it. She wraps the towel more securely around herself as she hears the shower turn back on. She digs around in her back, trying to remember what hadn't been cleaned yet. She finds some clothes outside of her dirty clothes bag as she stuffs the wet clothes into there. She finds a pair of underwear and an old, worn bra that has lost all of its padding.

And she needed it.

Caroline finds a pair of discolored black leggings that are whitening at the knees. She quickly slips on the underwear, bra, and leggings then dig around for a shirt. It takes her a minute to find an honestly ratty Bon Jovi t-shirt. It's got more than a few holes in it and is probably seeing the end of its days. She fingers one of the holes at her ribs, pursing her lips before picking the towel up off the ground and drying her hair.

Caroline digs around in her bag until she finds her phone and charger. She finds a wall with an outlet and sits down on the floor and plugs it in. Her phone takes a minute before it starts to power back up again. Caroline grabs strands of her hair and smells them, her nose filling with the scent of Klaus's shampoo. It doesn't smell as good as she remembers from the last night they had together, but it does smell good.

Her phone lights up and Caroline sees she's got a missed call from her mom. She hits recall and brings the phone up to her ear, listening to the phone ring. After the fourth ring, Liz picks up. "Caroline?"

"Hi mom," Caroline says, resting the back of her head against the wall.

"Hey Caroline," Liz says. "I'm glad that you called back. How are you doing?"

"Good," Caroline responds, tucking the hair behind her ear. "Everything is good. How about you? Anything new?"

"I'm good," Liz says. "I just got off work, so your timing was perfect." Caroline can hear the sound of the radio playing softly through the phone. "And no. Nothing is new. Everything is the same as it was last week. How is Cassie? Still the same as always?"

Caroline tries to sigh as quietly as possible. She doesn't know where her aunt is or why she disappeared. A small part of her wanted to reach out to one of the only other adults in her life, but she's not sure what happens next. She doesn't know what her mother could do. If she can fake this for a while longer, until she's eighteen and able to legally live on her own, she might be able to return to her hometown and reconnect fully with her parents. But not now. She's not sure her mom and her together can hide her secret.

Liz has been content pretending like it isn't happening and Caroline isn't sure if she blames her or not. Caroline has been on both sides of the fence in this mental argument with herself. Sometimes she hates her mother for not knowing what to do. For not being able to handle this. According to Cassie, something is wrong with Liz. She has the werewolf gene - which she passed on to Caroline - but is somehow unable to trigger it. She's had to kill people in the line of duty before and for some reason, it doesn't seem to be triggered.

Lucky her.

But at the same time, it's not her reality. She has the gene, yet it won't trigger. So she doesn't have to face it. It may never trigger for her so she can live out her life as a human. Caroline isn't sure if she's envious or not. She's not ashamed of being a werewolf, and she doesn't really hate it, but it does have some really difficult points that are hard to ignore. Like the change every full moon.

But Liz tries, despite knowing it all. She tries to be a mom and Caroline can at least appreciate that much. And a small part of Caroline will always know that if Liz knew that Cassie had vanished, she would bring Caroline home in a second and they would just have to figure it out. The problem remains to be her father. Bill wouldn't be able to understand and according to both Liz and Cassie, Bill hates the supernatural without fail and wouldn't be able to accept that his only daughter is a werewolf.

Now that's a whole can of worms that she's not ready to face. No, running is so much easier.

"Yes," Caroline says after a suspiciously long silence. "Aunt Cassie is the same as always. She's this ever constant." Caroline hates lying, she's not good at it. "Anyway, how's dad?"

"Oh," Liz says, "your father is fine. As always."

And they drop off into silence. Which is the norm. They aren't very close, despite the distance. They just don't have much to talk about.

The shower goes off in the other room, drawing Caroline back into herself. "It was nice to hear from you, mom. I've got to go. I'll talk to you again soon."

"Alright," Liz says, "I'll call again next week."

"Bye."

"Bye-bye."

Caroline hangs up the phone before lowering it into her lap, staring down at the background of her phone. It's a generic background of a really pretty flower she doesn't know the name of that she saw at a rest stop while she was waiting for the next bus. It was really pretty and it's probably a weed and not a flower but she doesn't care to know that.

It was pretty and for a moment it helped alleviate some of her loneliness. It's stupid. A little blue flower making her feel better. It's a pretty color.

"Forget-Me-Not."

Caroline jumps, looking up to see Klaus standing over her with a wrapped around his hips. His hair is dark and pressed against his skull and water droplets running down his chest, back, and arms. He's like the picturesque beauty from magazines that Caroline remembers drooling over in the line in the grocery store. He was nicely tone, not sculpted like a bodybuilder, but with lithe muscles lining his arms and legs and stomach. He was fit and strong. He's beautiful.

She blinks a few times, dragging her eyes away from his chest and up to his eyes. She expected a smug look for catching her oogle over him, but his eyes are still on the picture, long dark lashes brushing his cheeks every time he blinks.

"What?" Caroline asks, eyebrows pulling together.

"The flower," he says, nodding his head toward her phone. "The flower is Forget-Me-Not."

Caroline's eyebrows pull toward her hairline in surprise. At least it's an actual flower and not a weed as she feared it was going to be. At least she's not a complete fool. "I didn't know," Caroline admits. "I didn't know if it was a weed or a flower. Happy to know it was the latter one. I don't feel as insane about taking a picture of it now."

"It's a pretty flower," Klaus agrees before turning away and walking toward the chest on the other side of the room to dig out some clothes. He launched into the history of the flower but Caroline stopped listening when he dropped his towel and started changing into new clothes. She had to busy herself with her phone to stop herself from oogling him more. Even though he's not necessarily being modest about it all, but it's disrespectful to look at him like that. They may have a very weird relationship, but he doesn't deserve to be looked at like that.

"Klaus," Caroline says softly, staring at the Forget-Me-Not appreciatively. Anything to ignore the pale back pointed in her direction, the knots of his spine popping out as he pulls on some dark sleep pants. He ties the pants and turns around to look at her.

"Yes, love?"

Caroline lays her phone down on the ground and pushes herself up onto her feet, walking over to the shirtless, ancient vampire. "What are you doing out here?"

"Business," Klaus says, easily, admiring her attire. He reaches out and pokes his finger into the hole at her ribs. She giggles, pushing his hand away, which makes him smile faintly. "I spend a great deal of time cultivating my network and in order to do that, I travel a lot. I haven't really found a home base I really like. Not since... well, it's been a few years."

"So you're just here on business. You didn't follow me?" Caroline asks, slapping his hand when he reached out to poke the hole in her shirt again. "Knock it off, you full-grown man-child."

Klaus's smile widens a bit. "No, darling. As much as I would love to galavant the countryside looking for a beautiful little wolf, I have much more pressing matters to attend to." He locks eyes with her, melting her with his gaze alone. He makes her feel strange. The only person who she's felt a connection to in a long time. He's the first person that she's spent more than a single night with. Even now she can imagine staying with him comfortably for the next few days. Not forever, no, but having a constant companion for a little while will be nice.

"You think I'm beautiful?" Caroline asks softly. No one has ever said that to her outside the thralls of passion. That's the sort of thing that people say when they are wrapped around one another. "It's not just platitudes because we slept together, right? As a person, you think I'm pretty?"

Klaus smiles. "Of course, love. As a man that appreciates wonderful works of art and has seen many in his long life, I can say honestly, that you are beautiful. Has no one ever told you?"

Caroline rolls her head at his question, taking it as patronizing. "I'm not fishing for compliments. I just wanted to know if you meant it or if it was just something you said because we slept together last month and you felt you had to say it."

Klaus frowns, studying her face closely in the dim light of the lamps on either side of the bed. He can see well because of his vampirism and Caroline's lycanthropy allows her great sight as well. She has to wonder which is better. Or if they are both the same and it's just a matter of the person if their sight is any better or worse than the next person.

She forces the thoughts away, they're needlessly distracting.

"You think that my word means so little that I would say empty words to any girl who caught my fancy?"

Caroline gives him a look. "You're an old vampire and last month definitely wasn't your first time and if it was, well, I'm impressed," Caroline blabs, then notes his wolfish smile start to spread again and quickly moves on, "but I don't know you. We had a twenty-minute conversation, a lot of sex until I began my transformation and had to practically fall out of your arms." Caroline sighs, rubbing at her forehead. "What I mean to say... is thank you."

Klaus's eyebrows pull together tightly, confusion written across his face. "For what, love?"

Caroline looks down at her hands, trying to decide how to say this.

"Klaus, I don't know what this is. I don't know if this is a fleeting feeling because you like to take a walk on the dangerous side dealing with a werewolf closing in on the full moon, if you don't care about your life, or whatever third reason there might be. I don't know if you're helping me because you are genuinely interested in me, even if momentary, or if that night meant enough for you to want to help me still... or... what? And I don't know if your kindness comes at a price, or if you're doing it to mess with me or if you just want to use me to pass the time or whatever," Caroline rambles. She looks up to see Klaus staring at her with this unreadable look across his face.

Caroline runs her hands through her hair, trying to figure out how to speak like a normal person. She's saying words but not what she's trying to say. She reaches out and grabs onto his hands. She's not sure if it's the hot shower, or the fresh blood he drank before going into the bathroom, she's not sure, but his hands are really warm. He doesn't shrug off her hands in his, which is nice.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I'm thankful for this moment. No matter what the reason is that you're doing this, fleeting passion, interest or whatever, I wanted to thank you. Even if you just up and vanish in the night, or we get into a fight and you kick me out tomorrow morning, I want to thank you for tonight." Her eyes lock with his, hoping that it proves the sincerity in her words. "Thank you for not leaving me out in the rain. Thank you for being kind to me when you really don't have to be. Thank you."

He swallows, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. His lips twitch a bit as he processes what she said. She can't tell what he's thinking just by looking at his face, but she knew she had to tell him. He needs to know how much she appreciated being offered a place to stay for the night. Despite whatever happens tomorrow, today still ended on a high note.

Caroline laughs when she realized that he wasn't sure what to say. Somehow her words made him short circuit for a moment as he tries to figure out how to put his thoughts into words. Something tells her that people don't thank him quite as she did. And it makes her feel bad. She doesn't know much in the case of his personality, seeing as they really just met, but she didn't get this far on the road without learning how to read people. There is a deep sadness in his eyes from many years of suffering Caroline can't even begin to understand but it's heartbreaking that a single thank you is enough to baffle him. It hurts her heart.

She's got some issues, admittedly, but something tells her they pale in comparison to the demons that stalk him every hour on the hour. And she has to wonder how long he has bared this burden in humbled silence.

"Shh," Caroline says, shaking her head slowly when he opens his mouth. "You don't have to say anything. I'm not fishing for compliments or for pity. I'm just thankful and wanted you to know that. You don't have to justify anything or explain it one way or another." Her eyes meet his and she smiles softly. She squeezes his hands, giggling when he purses his lips.

"I have to say, Caroline, it's not often that I am left unable to find my words, but this is one of those times," he says, voice low. He offers a pursed lipped smile. "Very well. I will hold my tongue if that's what you want. But I assure you, there won't be a need for you to search for someone else to live tomorrow. You can stay."

Caroline rolls her eyes, not sure if he's placating her or not. "Right, thanks." Her stomach growls, making her flush and pull her hands away from his.

"Hungry?" He asks, grinning.

"Yes," Caroline admits, turning toward the bed. "But I'm more tired than anything." She looks down at the bedside table at the clock to see that it's almost ten-thirty and while her stomach is growling, she can only think about sleeping. "I'll eat tomorrow. I just want to sleep tonight on something that isn't a park bench."

"Are you sure?" Klaus asks, pulling on a simple white t-shirt. "It's not too late."

"It is for me," Caroline says. "I need to sleep more than food. Comfortable sleep, I mean."

Klaus gestures to the bed. "Very well, then, darling. Get some sleep."

"On the bed?" Caroline echoes. "What about you?"

Klaus shrugs his shoulders. "It's a king, Caroline. It's big enough to fit both of us."

Caroline rolls her eyes. "Very funny. You take the bed, your flipping the bill for all of this, and I'll sleep on that big, fluffy couch out there. Thank you for the offer, but it's your bed and I'm okay with going out there, so thank you again."

Klaus smiles, dimples popping out of his cheeks as she stuffs her dirty clothes into their bag and scooting it into the corner. She then walks over to her phone and charger and rips it from the wall and heads for the door. She stops, turning to look back at Klaus, who was still smiling that beautifully infuriating smile. She blows him a kiss and a wink before stepping out.

"Goodnight, old man."

"Goodnight, beautiful," Klaus calls back, a little laugh in his voice.

Caroline shuts the door with a smile on her face, and a flush on her cheeks.


	3. The Devil

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline had the best night of sleep in what feels like forever. And it was on a couch of all things. She didn't even bother looking for a blanket, just sank into the warmth and fluffiness of the couch and fell asleep immediately. She doesn't want to think about how she ended up with a blanket when she regained consciousness at like five-thirty in the morning and had to hunt down the other bathroom to pee. There was only one person who could have done it, but she didn't want to think about it too hard, lest she starts to expect things that she shouldn't.

Caroline fell back into the couch, wrapping the big blanket around herself like a burrito and sleeping comfortably until she could no longer ignore the soft sounds of Klaus talking on the phone with someone in the other room. She grabbed out her phone off of the coffee table in front of the couch and peaks at the time again to see that it's almost noon and she slept so well. She didn't want to leave the warmth of the blankets but knew that she would have to at some point. She just wants to lay on this couch all day for the next three years because it's been so long since she has been able to relax like this and she can feel the aches and pains from weeks of living on the street without break. The last time she slept in a bed... was probably the last full moon.

She slept for three days after the full moon. That has never happened to her before. That's a lot to take in. A night of sex, going through the terrible trauma of transforming into a wolf, rampaging around a room for a half-hour, then going through the terrible trauma of transforming back into a human and then passing out. She knows, that while she can transform pretty quickly, it usually leaves her down for the count for at least half a day. She's not really sure why it's so hard on her, but she knows that her aunt wasn't like that.

Maybe it has something to do with her mother not being able to trigger the curse. Caroline has always wondered about it - same as her aunt - but has never really known who to ask about things like that. She's never stuck around with people long enough to make connections to them. She has never really found someone she was willing to stick around with who may have been able to help her while she searches aimlessly for her aunt.

It's been so long now she hasn't been able to find her aunt, she's starting to suspect that she's never going to find her. Not looking as she has. But she's not sure what else she can do. If she was desperate enough, she would go back to her hometown... which is somewhere. Somewhere on the East Coast, she thinks. She moved across the country to live with her aunt.

No doubt she could ask her parents, but they would definitely be suspicious as to why she would ask them as opposed to asking her aunt, although she's sure if she thought about it she would be able to remember. But this isn't important to her. She doesn't really care much about where she came from. She expected that her life would never be taken back there and that, honestly, she probably wasn't going to see her parents again. She loved them, or at least she knows how to go through the motions of love, for her parents, but she knows that there isn't a relationship anymore.

The only way for them to remain on good terms as progenitors and progeny is these weekly phone calls. They just so happen to be the only thing keeping that relationship alive.  
Caroline isn't going to hold her breath on that. All this time on the street, and years before that with her cynical aunt, makes her very pessimistic. At least when it comes to people. She has been on the run for so long that it's okay. She enjoys being able to see so many people. It's nice to be able to see places she's never heard of before. She does hate not having a place to lay her head and regardless of how many people that she surrounds herself with, she always feels alone. And sometimes it's okay because everyone feels like that one way or another, but sometimes it's so hard that all she wants to do is quit.

She wants to go home and be a kid again, but she's never really been a kid. Not since she killed that boy back when she was a young girl.

"Good morning, love."

Caroline blinks a few times, realizing that she was sitting up on the couch, staring at the dark curtains that she closed on her way back to bed this morning, knowing that the sunlight was going to wake her earlier than she would want if she hadn't.

She looks over at Klaus, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and a sly half-smile across his lips. Caroline rubs at the back of her head, wondering how crazy her blond hair looked before realizing that she didn't really have an option to care she just twists around in the couch and smiles back at him, wiggling her fingers.

"Good morning."

His smile widens fondly, looking her up and down a bit. "Sleep well?"

"Yes," Caroline admits, standing up and stretching. She goes up on her tip-toes and stretches up as far as she can go, finding relief in the popping that rips up and down her arms and legs. There is one in her hip that feels particularly good before she lowers flat back onto her feet and turns to Klaus, adjusting her shirt back into place. "I haven't slept that good in weeks."

Klaus nods, still smiling. "That's good. You look rejuvenated."

"Compared to the trainwreck I was yesterday?" Caroline asks rhetorically, rolling her eyes.

He laughs, pure white teeth flashing as his smile grows. "You aren't a trainwreck. You are beautiful. Glowing like a sun."

Caroline hated that his attempt to shower her with empty compliments was enough to make her smile. It has to be the accent. Her ears aren't used to hearing people speaking like that saying those sorts of things. That's got to be where that mushy feeling in her chest is coming from. To cover up the heat building up in her cheeks, she jokes, "Glowing as in radiant or as in radioactive?"

Klaus laughs again and she decides then and there that she liked the sound of his laugh. She also liked his Adam's apple bobbing as he looks down at the ground, smiling and shaking his head. Disregarding all of the weirdness and unorthodoxy of their relationship, Caroline can honestly say, impartially, that Klaus was a beautiful man. Despite being older than life itself, he seems very boyish and childish - at least at this moment.

"Radiant, definitely," he laughs, shaking his head more. "Now, are you ready for something to eat? I have been listening to your stomach growl all morning."

Caroline flushes deeply, praying to God that wasn't true. She doesn't remember her stomach growling other than last night but that doesn't mean that it wasn't. It's just embarrassing to think about it.

"Okay," Caroline says, running her fingers through the knots in her hair. "I'll go see what's around here. I'll be back in a bit, make sure to answer the door for me."

"I'll come with you," Klaus says, pushing up the sleeves of his brown henley shirt to his elbows.

Caroline gives him a look as she walks past him and into the bedroom, seeing the bed slightly disheveled on one side but otherwise the same as she saw it the night before. She walks over to her bag and pulls out her little, worn-out black wallet. She digs around until she finds a simple black hoodie that lost its strings long ago and stuffed the wallet and phone into the big pocket, it is huge, practically drowning in it. "You? Why would you come with me while I find something to eat?"

"You don't think we should take this time to get to know each other?" He asks flippantly.

Caroline gives him that look again, walking up to him. She studies his expression for a moment before it came to her. "You think I'm broke, don't you?" He blinks a few times, but his silence is deafening. "Oh, I get it. Yes, I don't have a home. But how do you think I've been surviving all this time? Not just on the sympathy of strangers and bed partners. I do have some money. Not a lot, but enough to buy meals every day."

Klaus looks interested, which is probably peripherally, for the sake of keeping conversation, which is fine.

"Tell me more," Klaus says, gesturing out of the room. "Let's go out and eat then. I'll let you pay." He grins.

Caroline rolls her eyes. "I'll pay for myself. Not for you. And we aren't going anywhere fancy. Probably something cheap that will clog your arteries, give you heartburn and shave ten years off your immortal life."

Klaus laughs, shaking his head as she slips on socks and her worn tennis shoes that are still damp from the night before and follows her to the door. As they walk through the short hall to the elevator and hit the floor for the lobby, she finally looks at him again. "You laugh, but I mean it."

Klaus smiles lightly. "I believe you," he says placatingly, blue eyes pointed up toward the number decreasing as they descended to the bottom floor. Caroline rolls her eyes playfully.

***

"Without sounding like a rich white girl," Caroline says, stuffing her face with a handful of fries, "my parents give me an allowance. They have for as long as I can remember. Ever since I left home to live with my aunt. About a year or so back they started sending more money, separately." She shrugs her shoulders. "Neither of them will say anything about what it was that changed, but something obviously did." She swirls some more fries around in ketchup and stuffing them into her mouth, shrugging and saying, off-handedly, "Thank god for youthful metabolize and lycanthropy because I would have to be rolled down the street at this point."

That makes Klaus smile as he eats a few salty fries, looking like he should be above it, yet also able to make anything look natural. Caroline watches as a sultry smile crosses his lips when she realizes, he realizes that she's staring at them. She drags her eyes down toward the salty fries, trying to ignore that look on his face. She would rather not give this self-centered, ancient vampire the satisfaction of seeing the blush that's working its way up her neck and cheeks.

"Shut up," she mumbles, which makes him smile more. "Can you really eat that?" She nods toward the fries. "I mean, does that even do anything for you?"

"Are you asking if I get any nutrition from this?" Klaus asks, a playful glint in his eyes. He can tell when someone is trying to change the topic. Thankfully he accepted the topic change with grace. "No, not really. Although it does help curve the cravings."

Caroline gives him a sideways look. "Really?"

Klaus nods, genuinely. "Sure, it's like... it's like drinking something filling, like milk. It doesn't really satisfy the hunger, but it does quiet it for a time. Eating regular food does that for a vampire. It doesn't fulfill the need, but it does help."

Caroline blinks, surprised that she could actually understand that analogy. She figured that the magic of vampirism would be too much for her to understand, seeing as they are literal opposites, like the sun and the moon, but it wasn't that hard for her to wrap her mind around. Sometimes, from a distance, when she watches the world pass her by and she is able to recognize a vampire in a sea of humans, she can find some comparisons to make and some differences. Sometimes it seems like they blend in seamlessly and other times it's like the differences are astronomical.

"I didn't know that," Caroline says softly, picking a bit of cheese off of her burger and eats it. She leans on one of her arms, fist against her temple, staring at the man next to her in the busy fast food joint. "Tell me more."

"About vampires?" Klaus asks, mirroring her pose and offering a pursed smile back at her.

"Sure. About vampires or anything," Caroline says. He tilts his head a bit, blue eyes locked onto her face making her feel as if she has to clarify. "I don't want your life story or anything. I don't want to peel you back layer by layer or anything sappy like that. I just want to talk. Tell me about anything. Tell me about vampires. Tell me about the places you visited in your seven millennia of life. Tell me something."

Klaus's teeth show with the smile that crosses his face and a bit of a laugh that escapes him. "I fear seven millennia is a bit longer than my lifespan, love." At least he looks more amused than insulted.

Caroline waves her hand around dismissively. "Five then. Whatever. Just talk."

"Do you like the sound of my voice, love?" His eyes are bouncing with blatant amusement.

Caroline scoffs hard enough to hurt. She definitely didn't deserve that. "No," she says, forcing herself to not rub at the pain in her throat. "I just figured since you were alive since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, I figured that you would have a story or two."

Klaus laughs again, blue eyes shining as the sunlight pours in from behind him lightening his hair to look like a halo around his head. Despite knowing that he is so dangerous and could kill her easily, he somehow looks like an angel. She knows he isn't, but she can't help thinking it when he smiles like that. Flashing clean white teeth, sunlight turning his hair into a golden blond, and eyes bright blue in the light and crinkles around his eyes and nose with his smile. He's beautiful. A beautiful, fallen angel.

And amongst the real angels and humans with kind hearts, the devil found a safe place for her to stay, even if only for a little while.

"So," Caroline says, using her own voice to pull herself from her thoughts, "got anything? Unless you've got somewhere to be today."

Klaus shakes his head slowly, still looking at her with pretty, blue eyes with green near the irises and speckles of yellow mixed in. "I think I have some stories that may interest you."

Caroline turns so her whole body is facing the old vampire. "Okay. You have my undivided attention."

***

So they talked, for hours. In a little fast food restaurant for hours on end talking about anything and everything. Well, almost anything. Tiny touches of their personal lives, like family and stuff, slipped in once and a while, but nothing too crazy. Mostly they talked about places they've been, people they've seen, crazy stuff they heard of while on the road. Klaus, having lived since the dawn of time, was able to regale tales of times passing. Klaus may not have been an expert on every subject, but it always seems like he knows a little bit about everything.

He's very worldly and willing to share that information with her. It's nice to be able to just sit around and talk about aimless things, not having to worry about getting too personal or getting bored. Klaus is... surprisingly easy to talk to. She was inclined to believe since about three million years separate them that she wouldn't have anything to talk to him about, but that wasn't the case.

Caroline knows that Klaus is old. That he's been alive for centuries and has a ton of siblings. That he's got a strong love for art and he's fascinated with werewolves. It is the reason that he stopped her last month when he heard a young wolf was in town. It's obvious he wasn't going to get any information out of her, seeing as she has no idea how the world really works, judging by all of her questions and fascination with the simplest story. But he seemed more than happy to tell her anything that she wanted to know about Vampires and Werewolves. She knew all that her aunt told her, but it was still interesting to hear it from someone else. Especially since Klaus saw werewolves in their prime. When there were a lot of them.

Caroline doesn't see many these days. It would be crazy to live in a time where there were so many of them all wondering about. She knows in the grand scheme of things it's not all that different from today, but it's interesting to think about. Or maybe she's just romanticizing a time in her head that really wasn't all that different than now. Maybe it just makes her feel better to think of a time when there were so many people that were just like her.

And she wouldn't feel so alone.

They talked all the rest of the morning, through the lunch rush, and into the early evening when Caroline called it quits. She stands up and stretches for the tenth time that day, that and bathroom breaks were the only time she was able to pull herself away from their conversation. But her back and hips hurt from sitting there for so long, it's time for them to leave.

"Ready to go?" Klaus asks, standing up too. He cracks his neck and rolls his shoulders around to loosen up his stiff muscles. "It seems the day has left without us."

Caroline nods. "Yeah, my hips hurt. Can we go walk around a bit before heading back to the hotel?"

"You read my mind, love."

They leave the fast-food joint and walk around the city a bit, admiring the life around them, carrying on their conversation. Caroline links her arm through Klaus's as they walk around aimlessly. It's nice for a little while to pretend that this is her life. Comfortable, safe, leisurely, simple. She knows that this isn't her reality. She can feel the pressure of the full moon pressing down on every fiber of her being. Once the full moon has passed, barring Klaus doesn't send her into another three-day coma, she knows this will come to an end.  
This isn't her life and she's not going wish that it was. But sometimes it's nice to pretend, if only for a little while.

"I see you looking around, love," Klaus says, pulling Caroline from her thoughts. "Hoping your aunt Cassie will be about here?"

"Force of habit," Caroline admits, wrapping her hands around his inner arm. "I'm just hoping that she'll appear before me. Stupid, right?"

Klaus shakes his head. "The love of a family is sometimes the only thing we've got."

Caroline sighs as a gust of cold wind penetrates her black hoodie, making her shiver and hold tighter onto Klaus's arm. She's envious that he isn't able to feel the cold like he does. Sensations, like touch, and emotions are all heightened to vampires, according to Klaus - as it is with werewolves, though to a higher degree, whereas hot and cold itself isn't. He didn't say whether it was hampered in some way or if their other senses were so heightened that it was normal to that of a human and just felt easier to handle.

"I just want her to be okay," Caroline admits quietly, realizing that they had walked around the block and were making their way back to the hotel. "She just up and vanished without a word one day. I just want to make sure that she's okay. I worry about her."

"Even though she abandon you?" Klaus asks.

Caroline glares at him, not in the mood to argue family dynamics - especially her own family - to someone like him. "She didn't abandon me. Something chased her off. I just need to make sure that she's alright. She's my aunt and she looked after me. The least I can do is make sure that nothing bad has happened to her. You have family still around, don't you get that?"

"I understand, and my family isn't the pinnacle of good choices and trust-worthiness, but at least it is clear to me where I stand, and where they stand with me," Klaus says, eyes scanning the crowds, moreso from natural distrust whether than like her, who is looking for her aunt.

Caroline scoffs, shaking her head. "I know perfectly well where I stand, thank you very much." She looks at everything but the man next to her.

"I just think - "

"I didn't ask you what you thought, Klaus," she says, voice razor thin. "My family is my business. Just like yours is for you. I'm not poking and prodding into your life unsolicited, so butt out of mine. We have a good thing going, please don't ruin it, okay?"

Klaus doesn't respond, looking annoyed, like her reasoning was a good enough one for him. That or he thought it was pointless to hold out on someone that was willing to turn their back on her even though they are family. Caroline knew it wasn't like that. With how paranoid her aunt is, she knew that there had to be a good reason for Cassie to have just left her.  
There is a reason. A good reason for this.

Besides, it costs Caroline nothing to make sure that Cassie is okay.

***

Caroline called it quits early that night, even though all they did that day was sit around and talk, she was still exhausted. Usually, in the nights leading up to the full moon, she gets more and more anxious. She knows that she must turn, she feels it in her bones. She even experiences these... pre-transformation pains. Like growing pains or cramps before a period.

Once more, as far as she knows, she's the only one who has these. A part of her wants to ask Klaus since he's such a wealth of information - and because he would probably just tell her - but she's afraid of what the answer might be. Cassie always said there was something about Caroline that was a bit odd but never really explained how or why she thought so. Caroline could guess what it was, but there is always this touch of worry that comes to her whenever she thinks about what is going on.

Honestly, she hates running. She hates that she feels so alone all the time. She hates that she doesn't have any connections with people because Caroline loves people. Despite them making her feel like she's alone while in a crowded room or a busy street, she still loved people. She loved that they were all so different and worldly and wonderful. They were capable of great things both good and bad. But no matter what, she has always believed in the good in people, which is why she chooses to ignore Klaus's look.

Cassie is out there and needs her. She knows it.

Tomorrow is the night. The night of the full moon and even though she's tired and restless, her racing mind keeps her awake even long after Klaus gets off the phone with the tenth person he spoke to that night and began to settle into bed. But even still, after hours of laying on the soft couch, Caroline just stares up at the ceiling, letting her mind whirl.

She's never had a partner preplanned before, so she's not sure what tomorrow is going to look like. Is she just going to wake up tomorrow and they are just going to have sex all day? 

Seeing as a few hours leading up to her transformation was enough to knock her out for three days, she can't imagine what an entire day would do to her. Are they going to ignore each other until the evening? She just doesn't know. And honestly, despite the weirdness that they left on, she hopes that they are going to be okay when morning comes. She will just have to see tomorrow.

After a few hours just laying there, her mind spinning about what might come tomorrow, her eyes finally droop closed and sleep consumed her.

She wakes up to Klaus coming out to make himself some coffee. She stretches across the couch, rolling onto her back and wiggling back a bit so that she can hang off the arm of the couch and look in toward the small kitchenette. "What time is it?"

"It's about eight-thirty, love. You don't have to get up just yet." He doesn't sound mad anymore, but she's not sure she knows him well enough to go off of her feeling alone.

"I think I'm ready to, though," Caroline mumbles, pushing herself up onto her feet. She walks into the kitchenette, leaning against the counter next to him as they both watch the coffee pot fill up. She leans so close to him that she can feel the heat coming off of him. "Look, Klaus, I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to bite your head off."

"No need to apologize to me, love. Aggression is natural for a werewolf." His words are flippant, smooth as if he completely forgot about their little conversation from the day before.

"Not for me," Caroline says, running her hand through her hair. "I'm not an angry person. I am not normally aggressive. Cassie always said it was strange."

Klaus looks at her, eyebrows quirked a bit. The slightest bit of annoyance that was still on his face completely smooths out as she offers him something else to ponder what she said. "Really? No aggression at all?"

Caroline crosses her arms over her chest. "I mean, no not really. I get mad, but I'm not an angry person. I don't have fits of rage like others do. Cassie told me that werewolves learn to control that anger once the moon provides them an outlet, but I've never been like that, even before triggering the curse." Caroling shrugs. "Maybe it was because I was young and it was hard to tell, especially after I turned. I just don't get angry, and because I don't, I wanted to apologize for ripping your head off. I'm sorry."

He studies her face, looking for something - what? She doesn't know.

"Are you still mad at me?" Caroline asks. She doesn't want to, but she knows that if he was, and he asked her to leave, she would. Well, even if he told her, she would. If this weirdness continued, she'd have to run, if nothing more than to get the hell out of this weird situation. And honestly, Klaus doesn't owe her anything. He has been more than kind and helpful to her than she could have asked for.

She just has no idea what she's going to do if he kicks her out.

"No, love," Klaus says, voice soft. "I wasn't mad at you to begin with."

Caroline isn't sure she believes that for a second, but she's not going to argue with him. If he isn't going to kick her out tonight, then she's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"So..." Caroline says slowly, fingering the hole in her shirt at her ribs, not sure she knows how to look at the man standing next to her. This is steadily becoming weirder and weirder. This is her form of coping with her transformation every full moon but there isn't any sort of rule book. She's making this all up as she goes along. All she can do is continue pushing onward. "So... what is the plan for today?"

Klaus smiles, deviantly.


	4. Gifts

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline's face is so flushed with embarrassment that she's afraid that her face was melting. She has to fan herself in hopes that it will cool her down a bit. With that devilish look on his face, she thought that today was going to be filled with weird kink play or something. She wasn't sure what to expect at all. This... now, this was about a million miles off from the spot on the map that she thought it was going to be.

"I have no idea how this could possibly be fun for you," Caroline grumbles, face flushed. She twists around in the next dress to face the man sitting, propped up like a king against the cushions of the luscious couch in the viewing area, his legs crossed at the ankle on the table in front of him. He rests his temple against his fist, a wineglass full of blood sloshing around in his free hand. The only thing that he's missing is the crown perched on his head. But even without it, he doesn't look any less kingly.

"On the contrary," He smiles, amused. "I am having a lot of fun, Caroline."

Caroline rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're kind of a tool, old man." He laughs at that, shaking his head. "Besides, I don't know why this is how you wanted to spend today. Even if you bought them for me, I wouldn't take them. I live out of a backpack, I can't afford to carry around too much stuff." She looks down at him.  
Klaus purses his lips, pouting unhappily as if he hadn't thought of that.

"Perhaps we can make other arrangements..." he considers, looking over at the glass before taking a long, leisure sip of the blood from the attendant that has been helping Caroline get ready. It was a little strange but Caroline figured that if it wasn't a vampire thing, it was definitely a Klaus thing. He holds the glass out at arm's length, watching the red liquid as if it holds the secrets of the universe.

"I'm never going to wear any of these dresses despite how pretty they are. I live day by day. I don't have a closet. They're beautiful and I would like to say I'm enjoying being a Barbie-doll you're dressing up for some ungodly reason - but really I'm just a bit creeped out and worried about your sanity and my own safety. Think, Criminal Minds, but anyway, I'm not going to wear any of them. Not out and about and they aren't practical on the road," Caroline says, feeling the fabric with her fingers, hating how soft it was and that she had to send it away. It just wasn't practical. It would be taking up space that something else could use. Like a bus pass, or a pair of shorts. Or a hoodie.

As much as she liked the dresses, it didn't make sense to take them.

Klaus stares at her long and hard before saying, "Criminal Minds? Like the television show? The one with the serial killers?"

Caroline laughs, rolling her eyes. "Out of everything I said, that is what you took from it?" She shakes her head as he sends her a boyish smile.

"I just find it interesting that a girl like you would watch something like that," he says, intrigued. Then, a look crosses his face as he stares at her. "Wait a tick, love, when did you find the time to even watch it while on road?" His eyebrows pull together, a curious look spreading across his face.

"Klaus," Caroline says rolling her eyes, walking over to the couch, sitting down on the table in front of it, scooting his legs over a bit. "If you want to buy me something, can I make a request? Something I'll actually need."

Klaus pulls his legs down and sits forward, laying the glass down onto the table and looking at her with curious blue eyes. "I'm listening, love, ask away." He seems amused by her being willing to ask for something from him.

Caroline crosses her ankles and leans in closer to the man in front of her. "I would like a pair of nice running shoes." He stares back at her with raised eyebrows, genuinely surprised by her request.

"Running shoes," he echoes, blinking a few times. "Better to run away from me with?"

Caroline rolls her eyes. "Why do you always just assume that everything others do it is either in spite of you, to harm you, or to get away from you?" She looks into his eyes for a moment and sees something. She sees the truth there so plain and painful. He does. He will always assume that to be the truth. He's lived a thousand years with that being the only three things that remained constant. She can't bear to look at it any longer. "No. No, I'm not going to use these shoes for any other reason besides the obvious. I wore out my last ones and they are so much more comfortable than the flip flops that I've been wearing down. I live on the streets, I could keep saving so that I could spare enough for new ones, but if you are offering to buy me anything at all, that's what I want."

Nevermind the days of meals she would have to skip to afford really nice ones that won't wear down as quickly.

Klaus presses the tips of his fingers together, pursing his lips in thought. "Shoes? That's it? You could ask for a home if you wanted."

Caroline rolls her eyes again, the muscles starting to hurt from the number of times she's done that action today. "I don't need a home. Not like a physical house because I don't have anywhere I want to stay yet. And my aunt has a house that I can return to if I really needed to. I am far better off than some people. Or a lot of people, who really have nowhere to go or turn so I'm not complaining."

She looks down at his fingers dangling between his legs, watching as he slowly presses the tips of his fingers together, splays them out, then presses all of them back together again in his thoughts, considering what she's said.

"I suppose that is an interesting take on your predicament," Klaus says, lips barely moving as he speaks. His blue eyes half-lidded in thought.

"Think about it," Caroline says, "I'm going to change out of this dress." She stands up and heads back into the changing room, looking at the full body mirror one last time, admiring the soft purple dress. She likes how it hugs her nicely, the shape of the dress itself, it was all so beautiful and soft. The touch of the dress was foreign and nothing like she's used to.

Faintly, Caroline can remember a time when she was young. She loved dressing up in pretty dressed, dreaming of one day being a beauty pageant winner. She loved watching them walking across the stage, in their beautiful dresses with elegantly styled hair with pearly white smiles and airy voices. They were beautiful. They were what Caroline thought made a beautiful woman. Now she knows so much better. Now she understands that beauty isn't limited to the clothes one wears or how they style their hair or how they speak, the color of their hair, skin, or eyes, or even the cut of their jaw or the shape of their body.

Beauty is so much more than any of those things.

Caroline likes this dress, she thinks it's pretty and wished that when she took this dress off, it would go onto a hanger and into her closet, not to go back onto a rack for some other girl to peruse for one reason or another. But it's not practical for her to have it.

She tuns her fingers over the soft fabric of the dress one more time before finally taking it off, placing it back on the hanger that it belongs on and starts pulling on her leggings and holey t-shirt. She stands in front of that full-body mirror, staring at herself once more, envious of the girl before but not hating this one. In a different life, perhaps, she could be both girls. She could dress up in beautiful dresses and shoes that pinch her toes one night and then sit at home in a sweatshirt and leggings eating ice cream straight from the carton and watch movies the next.

But that's not her life. Right now, her life is finding her aunt and going home. It's the only thing that matters to her now. Her aunt needs her help, so it's only right that she goes looking for her and make sure that she's safe. Especially if somehow, she's the reason why she left. Caroline can't imagine what she could have done that would have made her aunt leave, but if she didn't do something she should apologize for it so that they could go home.

Caroline reaches out, touching her reflection in the mirror, letting out a long-winded sigh. Hopefully, Different-Life Caroline is having a more mundane, less hectic life than she has. Caroline pulls her hand away, makes a terrible face at herself in the mirror as a print is left behind before apologizing quietly to whoever was probably going to have to clean that and grab her sweatshirt with her phone and wallet and rush out without offering the colorful assortment of dresses behind without a second look.

Klaus is on his phone when she walks out. "Yes," he draws out, smiling pretty when she comes into view. "I have something more to finish in the city tonight and then I'll be heading out tomorrow evening. I'll meet you then."

Caroline walks back over to the table and slips her flip flops on. She plops down next to him on the couch, closing her eyes. She's still pretty tired. She pulls out her phone, glancing at it to see that it's getting into early evening and she's starting to get hungry too. If she's going to eat, sooner would be better than later. If she eats right before she transforms, she'll painfully vomit it all up. She hates it so much.

He moves his phone to his other ear, still listening to the person talking to him before resting his arm around her shoulders as she rests her head on his own shoulder, typing out a text, "I want to eat before it gets too late. Transforming on a full stomach is a pain." Then she holds it to his face for him to see. He nods, petting some of her hair from her forehead. She lowers her phone, finally relaxing into his gentle embrace.

Caroline plays on her phone after deleting the text before playing a free game on it while she waits for him, droning out his words while just listening to the sound of his voice.

Klaus hangs up, pushing some of her hair off of her forehead. "Alright, love, ready to head out?"

Caroline nods, dragging herself away from him, missing his gentle warmth as soon as she pulls away. She shoves her phone into her big pocket and holds her hands out for him to take. He smirks, taking her hands after sliding his own phone into his own front pants pocket before taking her hands and letting her help pull him up onto his feet. Klaus puts his arm around her shoulders as if it's the most natural thing in the world and leads her out of the store, stopping to compel the sales assistant to forget that they were there.

***

After a meal, Klaus takes her to a safe house in the city where she can safely turn. As they walk there, Caroline soaks in the energy of the rising moon, feeling it wash over her body and into her bones. She's going to change tonight, she can feel the tingling beneath her skin. She needs to wear out her body then safely change into the wolf tonight.

"What's it like for you?" Klaus asks. "Tell me how this day feels for you."

"The night of the full moon?" Caroline asks, looking up at him, curiously, holding his hand over her shoulders. She's not sure if it's the full moon itself, this man, or the fact that she's conditioning her body, slowly, but surely, to respond to the full moon in such a way, but she doesn't want to separate from Klaus. She feels safe with him and they really are connecting. Which is strange.

"Yeah," Klaus says, blue eyes scanning the streets around them. Caroline can smell water in the air. It's going to rain again.

"It's a lot of mixed feelings," Caroline says. "I get anxious and have a hard time sleeping. But I also feel more connected to nature. My aunt hates the full moon. Hates the pain and the change - which I get. I hate the feeling of the change too, but I've adapted and I'm used to it now. It's just another thing for me to go through every month."  
They walk in silence for a few minutes.

"Why are you so interested in werewolves, anyway?" Caroline asks. "You have a lot of questions, or should I be worried about it since they all have really been about me?"

Klaus laughs, pulling her a bit closer as they walk inside the safe house, which is off the beaten path but still close to plenty of shops to be considered in town. She walks up the front steps, stopping outside the door. She looks at Klaus as he unlocks the door with a quizzical, "If you had a place to stay, why would you shack up at a hotel all this time? Room service?"

Klaus smiles charmingly down at her. "No, love. I just bought it. Quaint little thing, isn't it?"

Caroline gives him a withering sideways glance. "Are you kidding? You didn't buy it today, did you?"

"In between you changing clothes at the shop, yes," Klaus says, shrugging his shoulders. "I knew that I was going to need something that you could tear apart. I like the location of this place but it's going to need to be gutted anyway if I want to fix it up and resell it."

Caroline tilts her head to the side. "You bought it today? For me? So that I would be able to turn? And after I tear it up, you're going to what? Remodel and then sell it to some family of four?"

Klaus laughs, shaking his head. "Maybe, if that's who wants to buy it, why not?"

Caroline stares at him trying to decide which one of these pieces of information she's more interested in exploring at the moment. The fact that his lucrative business is selling homes to suburban families, or the fact that he bought it - which is no doubt worth a pretty penny, at least to her, no doubt - because she needed somewhere safe to change so that she doesn't run the risk of attacking anyone who couldn't defend themselves. She's not ready to explore the meaning behind that second one so she decides on, "You sell homes for a living?"

Klaus laughs again. "I do many things, Caroline. Selling refurbished homes is just a way to make some spare change."

Caroline makes a face at that. Selling a home for spare change? That is way too rich for her blood. She is way out of her league when dealing with him. She needs to just not think too much about it and move on tomorrow.

As soon as they get inside, Klaus leads her through a modest, sparsely decorated house with absolute bare minimum furniture before leading her up to the nicest part of the house, a bedroom. Caroline stips off her sweatshirt, dropping it to the floor and throwing herself into his arms. He uses vampire speed to move them both across the room and onto the bed. Caroline's lips lock onto Klaus's kissing him as hard as she can, pulling back just enough to pull her shirt and bra up over her head before latching her lips back to his as he tosses his own shirt across the room.

Caroline runs her fingers up and down his chest as he presses close to her. He knees himself between her legs which she allows without a second thought, her tongue twisting together with his. With one hand she reaches up and grabs hold of the back of his dark blond haired head. A part of her wished that his hair was just a little bit longer but she won't complain. She grabs onto the back of his neck instead as he kisses down her neck, between her breasts, kissing each of her rips as he makes his way down to her stomach to the top of her leggings before smiling up at her.

"I hate you," Caroline groans, her chest heaving. He meets her eyes through long dark lashes, looking hungry and animalistic. There is something about him that just feeds into the wolf's desire. He makes her feel more alive than anyone else has before him. She not sure if it's because this is the second time that she's been with him or... or if she's just thinking too much because she's drunk on their shared passion or as the moon starts to rise higher into the sky, falling in through the curtainless window and wrapping her body in a silver light that sinks into her skin.

She looks down at him between her legs and watches as he stares back at her with his mouth hanging open as if they are both hypnotized by the same feeling, she grabs onto her leggings as he unbuckles his pants and they both rip them off of their bodies. Their skin couldn't be touching fast enough and Caroline feels like her body is on fire. They wrap around each other and Caroline feels him hike her leg up over his hip as his stubble rubs across her face and her neck when he moves there to give her scratchy butterfly kisses.

He pushes inside of her as soon as she exhales, making her choke on her breath. She wraps her legs around his waist to pull him further inside of her faster, moaning his name over and over again. He keeps whispering sweet nothings in her ear that drives her crazy. She ranks her nails down his back before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again and again and again, loving how his lips feel against her's. How his body seems to fit perfectly against her own. How he knows everything that she needs before she can even find the air to voice them.

"You are absolutely ravishing, Caroline," Klaus whispers against her lips, pulling her back into her body. She's not sure how long they've been at it, but he looks like a dream against the moonlight pouring in on them. She loved the look on him.

"Say my name again, Klaus," Caroline rasps, loving to hear how her name rolls off his lips.

"Caroline," he says obediently, and Caroline can feel her skin prickle with pleasure as it washes over her. "Caroline."

Caroline's breathes out deeply, stretching out on the bed against the moonlight as Klaus hovers over her. His skin glistening but it has already begun to start drying. It's not dripping on her anymore, which she surprisingly didn't mind. She pulls him down until he's settled across her, his head on her shoulder with his forehead pressed against her chin and she holds him close, relishing in this feeling. She runs her hands up and down his back, using her nails to lightly scrape against his skin hoping that this feeling is as soothing to him as it is for her.

It takes him a minute to get used to the feeling before letting himself relax a bit. Then a little bit more. Then a tiny bit more until he's laying with his weight on her and breathing more contently. She could feel that little jump of his heart in his chest and she has to wonder if it's fear. She's not sure what he's afraid of, but he eventually starts to calm down.

She could feel his long lashes touch her neck every time he blinked which is an interesting feeling. But she feels good, like last time. She likes this feeling. Not just the sex, but also this feeling. This closeness. She hasn't felt this closeness or anything similar to it. It's not just their bodies that are close, it's their hearts beating in sync. Their breathing rhythmically. This feeling that the two of them are connected. She just doesn't know how to explain it. She's not sure how it got to this point or what makes it feel like this, but she's happy.

She's happy that he can relax, even if only for a moment. But she knows that it has to come to an end. As much as she would love to stay in this moment forever, she knows that she can't. She can feel the moonlight pulsating through her, calling like a siren.

"Klaus," Caroline whispers, pressing her lips into his forehead. "I need to change now." Despite her words, she wraps her arms around him to keep in place. The feeling washes over her, the need to transform, but she forces it down to hug him close, kiss his forehead again before running her fingers across his back, his neck and then through his hair. "I feel it. I have to transform now."

Klaus finally pulls away, seemingly as unwilling to do it as she does. He stares down at her as she finally lets the moonlight in, feeling her skin tingling, and releases the part of her that's been holding back, allowing the transformation to start. Her arm cracks first, then her back, and then her other arm. She grits her teeth as a yell of pain tears through her.

Klaus scoops her up and leaves the room, walking with purpose but not rushed. They go from the upstairs down into the unfinished basement. The floor has a bunch of pillows and blankets strewn out over the concrete for some unexplainable reason that she can't find the air in her lungs to question it. He slowly lowers her down onto the pillows and covers, running his hand over her hair as she cries out in pain.

The old vampire presses his lips onto Caroline's hairline before walking up the stairs and closing the door behind him as Caroline complete's her transformation into the wolf. As usual, the wolf angrily tore into anything and everything down there. She tore into the blankets and pillows, tossing feathers and stuffing all over the basement floor. She scrapes her nails against the concrete floor when she disheveled enough of the covers to find it. Grew bored of that pretty quick and took to attacking the stairs, ripping at the supports with her teeth and then digging into it with her claws, snarling and angry, searching desperately for a way out so that she could get to... get...  
She doesn't know.

She just has to get out of here.

Her wolf brain figured out how to use the stairs and scaled it, then bashed herself against it a few times. Long, sorrowful howls of pain that reflect this pain in her chest that only the wolf understood. She needed to get out of there, she needed to, but her wolf can't articulate what this need is. Just that she needed to get out of this basement and find whatever it is that she's looking for.

But Klaus is living up to his reputation once more before long Caroline's wolf tired out and coiled up in the tattered remains of the pillows and blankets before relinquishing control back to Caroline and reverting back into herself.

After some time, Klaus's hands run over her back, pulling her out of the blackout sleep she fell into. He sits down next to her, smoothing down her wild hair and running a hand up and down along the ridges of her spine as she curls into a ball. She feels the unease in her gut starts to settle. Klaus kisses her temple and whispers, "Beautiful little wolf, you amaze me." He places another kiss on her forehead.

Caroline reaches weakly back toward Klaus. He wraps one of the tattered blankets around Caroline and lifts her up into his arms with ease. She blacks out again when her head hit his shoulder.

***

Caroline wakes up again to see she's back in the hotel that she and Klaus were staying in. She's in the big, lush bed, wrapped up in blankets in new leggings that are still a crisp black and a long white t-shirt. She's tired and weak, looking around the room blearily.

"Klaus?" Caroline rasps. "Klaus?" She calls louder when there isn't a response.

Nothing. The rooms are silent. He must not be in.

A blinking in the corner of her eye catches her attention. She flattens the pillow with her arm to see her phone sitting on the nightstand, charging. She reaches out, grabbing hold of it and looking at the screen. She's got some emails, a message from her mom asking if she was okay - the same thing she asks after every night of the full moon - and a voice mail from a number under the contact 'Klaus'.

She frowns, rubbing at her eyes roughly, wondering if she was seeing correctly. Did he put his number in her phone? Her eyes flicker up to the time. It's early afternoon about two days later. Man, that boy really knows how to wear her out. But now that explains why he isn't there. He told whoever he was on the phone with the day of the full moon that he would be leaving the next evening, which was last night.

She clicks on the voice mail and brings her phone to her ear.

"Hello, love," Klaus says easily, "seeing as our adventures often leave you slumbering for a few days," he says smugly, "I decided to leave you this message. This makes us even for leaving without saying a word beforehand, but I'll show that I am the bigger person by calling you and leaving this message for you to wake up to. The room has been paid for until the end of the following week. Use it to your advantage. Room service and the like." A pause, then, "I've been thinking about what you said and I've decided that I will give you a gift. A few, actually, for being such a good little wolf. I got you a pair of shoes by your bag and a few more t-shirts and those dark leggings you fancy. And since I know that you would deny it otherwise, I got you a card to use, in case of emergencies. You're young, Caroline, and should never go hungry. Use it for food or whatever else you wish, but use it. Do not go a day without eating something."

She has to pause the message, feeling like she can't breathe. She stares up at the white ceiling trying to reign in her whirling, exhausted mind.

Caroline feels a prickle in her eyes that she immediately hates. He shouldn't have done that. He didn't need to do that. She was fine. She usually didn't go without eating unless she knew that she was going to have to spend her money on something expensive. She feels terrible now for having asked for anything at all. She shouldn't have asked for those shoes. She shouldn't have made him feel obligated to help her. She shouldn't have made it seem like everything was so much harder than it was.

It wasn't. She was surviving fine. She was content and most of the time, her life was fine. Now she feels manipulative and evil. He shouldn't have had to do any of that for her. There was absolutely nothing that she could do for him. All she could do was either leave everything there and it falls into the hands of someone else, or in the trash or she could take it with her and maybe do something good with it.

What? She has absolutely no idea.

"I left my number in your phone," Klaus continues once she unpauses the message. "I'll be in touch." The message ends there. Caroline listens to it three more times before deciding that she can't ignore the rumbling in her belly anymore and decides that, at least for this moment, she'll accept his kindness and order room service, thankful to have a soft, warm place to rest her head for a few days before she's off again.

It's raining outside and she's not too keen on going out there to face it. She'll stay inside where it's warm and she can eat for free.

Once she gets some food and water in her, she listens to his message three more times before pulling up his name in her meager contact list and composing a text message. She stares at the empty message for a long time, chewing on her lower lip as she tries to decide on what to say. Nothing seems adequate except that she has to say something.

Finally, after way too long and her phone screen timing out five times, she types up, "Thank you, Klaus" and sends it. She throws her phone down on the bed, turning on the television and channel surfing until something catches her eye. She uses it as background noise as she stares at the back of her phone next to her foot. It vibrates a few minutes later and it takes all of her will power not to snatch it off the bed as fast as her muscles will allow.

She picks it up, turns it around and the screen lights up with a message from Klaus. "Anything for you, little wolf."


	5. Skill

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline stares down at her shoes, that, at one point almost a year ago, they were brand new. Now they are worn down, discolored but well-loved. She admired them before looking over at the new backpack that she got three months ago. Klaus seems to have taken this all as a challenge since that second full moon they spent together. He buys her things that she needs every month. The backpack, the shoes, more clothes, a credit card - one he had to call her and tell her that he's watching for the bill and if he doesn't get one he's going to get mad - and when her phone finally gave out on her, he bought her one of those too. Nothing too crazy, too expensive, and he didn't buy the whole thing. She spent days saving the money her parents were saving her to buy herself a phone. Klaus surprised her by matching it to get her something a bit nicer.

Naturally, he made sure his number was the first that was reprogrammed into her phone. Then he brought her back to his safe house and they spent the next day and a half screwing until she changed for the full moon. That's become their routine whenever they end up in the same town - mostly his own doing, she knows - they would meet up as soon as she got off the bus or train and they spent the rest of the time together. Most of the time it's lounging around in bed between bouts of sex, but other times they are walking around town, sitting around watching movies, having long, drawn-out conversations about anything and everything they could talk about.

It was after seven months that Klaus dropped the ball on her about what he really was. A hybrid, he said. He told her how his mother was a witch, his father was a werewolf, like her, and he was raised by her mother's husband at the time. It wasn't until after he was turned into a vampire - one of the original vampires, so he's a hell of a lot older than she originally thought - that they learned the truth about his mother's infidelity. He told her about having a bunch of siblings. Finn, Elijah, Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik - who was no longer with them.

Caroline in return told him about her aunt. About her parents. How she hasn't seen them since she was nine years old. How she owes everything to her aunt. How she just wants to make sure that her aunt is okay. She told him about her birthday, which prompted him to stop whatever he was doing and took her for a spa weekend that she is never going to forget. It doesn't help that he had to guilt-trip her into it, but it's probably the best weekend she's had since forever. Her only stipulation was that he did everything that she did. It was funny to see him wear a face mask.

Laying in bed with her head on his chest, breathing deeply for that smallest bit of delicious scent that he gives off once he's drenched in sweat was probably her favorite time. They would talk about anything while laying skin to skin. Her ear against his shoulder, his stubble rubbing her forehead as his hand runs up and down her back while her hand traces his ribs and lithe muscles on his stomach and chest.

He would run his fingers over her ribs or close to her hips, tickling her and making her squirm. He would laugh softly, apologize when she slapped his chest and pull her closer. She loved sleeping with his arm around her. Her head resting on his chest, or with his face buried in her hair or the back of her neck. It was so relaxing to be able to let her guard down.

She opened up to him about the weirdness she faced with herself. How she would get aches and pains sometimes leading up to the full moon - which Klaus confirmed was unnatural as far as he knew - and he mentioned how he was somewhat concerned to learn how much transformation took out of her. Needless to say, when he learned that even without spending hours before a change with him having sex would still leave her unconscious for usually a day afterward, he never let her leave his side until she was back up to full strength.

Then he would unlock the cage and let her fly away once more.

But he found interest in exploring these moments too, seeing as he was half werewolf his interest was understandable. And he encouraged her to learn more about herself. Push her body to the limit and see what else she could do that she didn't know. And she had learned some interesting things she wanted to be able to tell him in person. So, next time, they spoke, she would show him.

And when they weren't together, they were texting each other. Sometimes things would come up and he wouldn't respond for hours but he never went more than a day without reaching out to her one way or another. Caroline usually took a lot of selfies next to funny or cool things that she wanted to share with him. They were usually benign things but for the first time for a long time, she felt connected to someone. Plus, Klaus isn't bad company to have or to reach out to.

It's been about a month and a half since she last saw him in person. He's been busy with things in regards to his curse that he's been trying to break. She wished him luck and hasn't really heard from him since, except for little updates or inquiries into how she's doing. She got that he was busy and gave him space, but she hadn't really heard how it was going but hoped for the best for him.

She looks up from the floor to see the sign of the town they entered into. Mystic Falls. She leans back in the seat, wondering where the name was familiar to her. She just looks up at the sky, pulling her backpack off of the seat next to her and onto her lap. She wraps her arms around it. She watches as the buildings blur by. She feels her stomach growl. She pulls out her phone and logs into her bank account to check and see how much she has, trying to decide if she had enough for something to eat or if she should use Klaus's card.

Klaus got mad at her for feeding the homeless alone. So she made a deal. A meal for her, a meal for someone else.

Caroline purses her lips as they reach another stop, deciding this cute town was probably as good as any to settle in for a bit. She knows that she's heard of this place before, but it honestly sounds like a fairytale place. Mystic Falls? Sounds magical. A perfect place for a little, wayward werewolf girl.

She finally pushes herself up to her feet and walking off the bus. She spins around, looking for a good place to eat and hang out for a few hours. With the little boost of help from Klaus, she was able to download a book reading app onto her phone so that she could read any time she wanted. It makes the times in-between full moons bearable. 

It at least passes time better.

"Mystic Grill," Caroline says, eyebrows raised as the sign catches her eye. "Okay, that sounds good." She looks both ways, crosses the street and makes her way over to the building. It's about four in the afternoon and school hasn't started back up yet, and apparently, this is the place for people to hang out in this town as it is packed.

She looks around the room. The bar top, the split level, the pool tables, and then, like a magnet, her eyes find him. He's at a table on the far side of the room with his back to her, leaning back in his chair talking to a dark-haired man with a nicely pressed suit. They were staring at one another.

Caroline couldn't help herself. She slings her backpack over both shoulders to keep it in place as she sneaks up behind the dark blond-haired man. The man he's talking to looks up at her, eyebrows pulling together slightly and when their eyes meet, she holds a finger up to her lips to stop him from speaking. His lips part slightly but he doesn't speak. Caroline was right behind the blond, hands raised. It wasn't until she was already moving that the small voice in the back of her head alerted her that there is a very good chance that this wasn't who she thought it was, but it was too late by the time that thought reached her.

"Klaus!" She calls, grabbing onto his shoulders tightly. She feels his muscles tense under her fingers before he processes her voice and starts to relax. He turns his head slightly and she recognizes his profile and leans forward, kissing his cheek and hugging him tightly around his neck. She feels his smile against her lips as he turns his face completely so that her lips can meet his. The first kiss is fast, the second one drags on for a few seconds. She feels relief washing over him. The same feeling she always gets whenever they run into one another.

Out of all of their times, either it's an accident or he actively seeks her out. She lives as such a free spirit that she would never be able to figure out where he was in time for the full moon, even if she wanted to. So the fact that she was able to sneak up on him for once is a nice feeling.

He smiles at her as she pulls back. She rubs his cheek a bit before shrugging off her backpack onto the floor and sitting down in the chair next to him. Klaus grabs one of her hands, kissing the back of it before letting it go.

"Thanks for not ratting me out," Caroline says to the other man, respectfully offering the hand that doesn't have Klaus's slobber all over it for the man. "I'm Caroline, it's nice to meet you."

The man smiles respectfully, a curious look on his face as he takes her hand and shakes it. "Elijah. It's a pleasure, Caroline."

"Thanks," Caroline says, offering a smile to the older man. "Are you a vampire too?"

He smiles back, studying her curiously still. "I am. And you..." he trails off, eyes narrowing a bit, "I see that you are a young werewolf."

Caroline raises her eyebrows, casting a look over at Klaus, who purses his lips a bit with high brows, shrugging his shoulders, before she looks back over at Elijah. "So, are you old, like Klaus? He's like a billion now, you know?"

Klaus grins and Elijah looks mildly amused. "He is, is he?"

"Caroline," Klaus says, amused. "Elijah is my brother. My older brother."

The smile falls from her lips so fast, it almost hurt. She blinks a few times, looking between them, before looking back over at Elijah. "Okay, I would like to premise this by saying that age insults are kind of our thing and had anyone thought to say that you were his older brother in the last minute and a half we'd known each other, I wouldn't have said that. So...I'm sorry."

Elijah shakes his head as Klaus laughs. "No worries, Caroline, for it is all in good fun, I'm sure. Niklaus seems to be rather fond of you."

"Niklaus?" Caroline echoes, happy that the old vampire wasn't mad at her. She turns toward the blond next to her. "Your name is Niklaus? Why don't you go by that? It is such a cute name. I kind of love it."

Klaus grins back at her, amusement dancing across his face. "Only my family calls me Niklaus. I much prefer Klaus, honestly."

"Shame," Caroline says, dejectedly. "One more time?"

Klaus grins even more. "If it pleases you, little wolf. Once more."

"Niklaus," she sighs. She sinks back into her chair, looking over at Klaus, shaking her head slowly. "And there it goes, fluttering away like a butterfly." She settles her hand   
over her heart. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."

Klaus rolls his eyes, leaning back in his chair too, staring at her with that infuriatingly beautiful smile on his face that literally makes her melt into a pool of Caroline mush whenever she sees it. "You are so dramatic, Caroline."

"I know," Caroline says, grinning. She looks back over at Elijah, who laced his fingers together on the table, looking between them with a look on his face that Caroline doesn't understand. It's curious, watchful, but there is a softness to it too when he looks at Klaus. It's guarded, though, like he's worried about something but doesn't want to put it into words. At least not yet.

She shifts closer to Klaus, and then she smells it. That same wonderful smell that she smells whenever they have sex. That lingering scent that comes out when he's sweating. Except it isn't a light, lingering scent. It's like a perfume around him. Normally she can smell a light cologne from him, but this smell is overpowering even that.

She stares at him. "Okay, I'm about to do something very wolfie. Sorry." She leans forward, breathing him in. He smiles, bearing his neck to her. She leans in closer, pressing her nose into the corner of his jaw, breathing deeply. Pulling back before running her nose down his neck, breathing more. He smells so good, it's like injecting straight acid right into her brain. She can hear fireworks going off in her ears and she has to physically pull herself back to stop from making this weirder than it already is.

"Klaus, wow. That smell? I've never..." she says, sinking into her seat. "I just... I only smell this when..." she stares at him, trying to decipher what that look on his face means. She stares into his eyes, trying to sync minds with him until the answer comes to her. She jerks up in her seat. "No way. Klaus, no way!" Her eyes widen along with his smile. "Did you do it? The curse that you were telling me about? You broke it?"

Dimples pop out on his cheeks as he nods slowly. "It is broken, love."

Caroline smiles brightly back at him. "You really did it? Can I see? You can do the vampire eye thing right?"

He leans forward so that their faces were less than a foot apart and she watches as the black veins dance up his cheeks toward his eyes. The sclera blackens and instead of the blue of his eyes popping out, the blue bleeds into molten gold. When she saw the veins and the darkened sclera for the first time, she was scared that he would kill her, but that look crosses his face sometimes when they are together like he hungers for more than just her blood. Like he wants her. Now she isn't scared of this look, and his eyes. They are beautiful.

"I love the blue of your eyes," Caroline says, cupping his cheeks, running her thumbs over the soft skin under his eyes, "I'm going to miss them, but these eyes are so beautiful too. Real wolf eyes." She stares into his eyes, hypnotized. "Like melted gold." She smiles when he does, feeling the veins pulse lightly beneath her fingers. "I knew the artist in you would like that reference."

And when he lets the wolf out like that, that wonderful smell comes out full force and now she knows where that smell stems from. That smell comes from his wolf side that has been suppressed all these years. When they were together like that first night and she smelled it, she couldn't figure out what it was that made him smell so good, but now she knows. She didn't smell this with her aunt, but that's probably because they are family. And she hasn't been close to any other werewolves in her life.

"You smell divine, love," Klaus says softly. His eyes revert back to normal. The veins sink back into his skin, sclera whiten again and the blues of his eyes return and feral hybrid Klaus is just as pretty as normal, every day Klaus.

"I think it's a werewolf thing," Caroline says. "I could smell it on you faintly before you told me about you, and now that the curse is lifted on you and your werewolf side is released, I can smell it stronger." She pauses for a moment, considering, "Could you not smell it as a vampire?"

"Vampire senses aren't as keen as werewolf senses," Klaus says. "So no, I couldn't smell it. At least, not like now."

Caroline smiles at him. She looks over to see Elijah still watching them, his expression softer than before. Caroline flushes, realizing that she forgot that the older brother was there. She mumbles an apology, tucking a strand of blond hair that escaped her messy bun on the top of her head behind her ear. She looks back over at Klaus, "I'm going to go grab some food. I'll be back."

She stands up, noting their empty drinks. "Would you like refills? Burbon and..." she looks over at Elijah as she digs around in her back for her wallet.

"Oh nothing for me, thank you," Elijah says respectfully.

Caroline grins. "Don't be humble, Elijah," Caroline says, holding her wallet in one hand. "Klaus gave me a card. He'll be buying your drink."

The corners of Elijah's lips turn upward slightly, amused, his dark eyes landing on his brother. "Well, if Niklaus is paying. I'll have another, please. Thank you, Caroline."

Caroline grins down at Klaus, winking at him before turning and heading toward the bar. As she walks away, she feels him say, "Isn't she stunning?"

She pretends that she didn't hear him, feeling her skin prickle. This old vampire turned hybrid does some weird things to her without even trying. And he always speaks to her and about her so nicely. She's not sure what she did to deserve this but he definitely knows how to make a girl feel nice. She looks over the menu, gets herself a burger and fries and then orders the two bourbons, nodding to the table Klaus and Elijah are occupying. "They need refills."

The waitress brings their drinks over while Caroline just waits for her food, sipping on her water while she waits. She listens to the music, enjoying the atmosphere of this place. Once her food is dropped off for her she grabs the plate and heads back over to the table to sit with Klaus and Elijah, listening to them talk. She walked in halfway through the conversation and was kind of lost on what was going on, but it sounds like Klaus and Elijah are already preparing to head out of town soon enough. Like in a few days.

"Did you just get into town, Caroline?" Elijah asks, pulling her out of her intense munch fest. She's almost polished off her fries. She swallows thickly, taking a drink of her water before nodding.

"Yeah. I just got off the bus about three minutes before I walked into the pub. Or is it a bar?" Caroline looks around, trying to remember what the sign said. "Oh, I mean grill. So yeah. Just got into town."

"And where will you be staying tonight?" Elijah asks curiously.

"She'll be staying with us, Elijah," Klaus says, answering for her.

Elijah doesn't look bothered by Klaus's words, simply curious about them. He stares at his brother for a moment, giving Caroline the impression that Klaus might be acting differently than usual. But Caroline isn't going to think about that and what it could mean.

"I see," he says. After a moment longer, staring at his brother, he looks back over at Caroline, "And may I ask, Caroline, how you met my brother?"

"Wrong place, wrong time," she teases, grinning playfully at the man next to her. Then seriously, she says, "We met almost a year ago, I think. I was looking for some help on the full moon," she ignores the wolfish grin Klaus throws at the side of her head, "and that was when I ran into Klaus. We've tried meeting up as much as we can ever since. I'm really busy, you see, and can't have an old ass vampire following me around all the time so sometimes we miss each other."

Klaus throws his head back in the laugh, flashing bright white teeth in the action. Even Elijah looks more amused, casting a look at his brother before looking back over at Caroline. "You seem to be on good terms."

"Enough of the third degree, Elijah," Klaus mirthfully chastizes. Then to Caroline, he says, "My brother and I have recently reconciled a very long, drawn-out bout of drama between us. He's now trying to catch up on the goings-on in my life. Making sure I'm not getting into any more than my usual brand of trouble." By his face and voice alone, Caroline can't tell if he's annoyed or upset by that.

"Sounds like a good big brotherly thing to me," Caroline says, shrugging her shoulders. "You could do worse than having a family that's looking out for you." Klaus sobers up a bit, staring at the side of her head until she feels like she has to admit, "No, I haven't found her. Yes, I am still looking and... and maybe I'm getting really tired of all this running around like a chicken with its head cut off." She stares at him, waiting. He just stares back at her with eyebrows raised. After almost an entire minute of them staring at each other, she says, "Well?"

Klaus tilts his head to the side. "Is it my turn to talk now? I thought you already knew what I was going to say."

"Yeah but you like to hear yourself talk so you usually say it anyway."

"That notwithstanding," Elijah says, huffing in amusement, ignoring the glare Klaus shoots his way, "but am I missing something?"

Caroline turns away from Klaus to his older brother. "When I triggered my curse I was just a kid. I was sent to live with my aunt who also triggered her curse. I'd been living with her up until about two years ago when she suddenly went missing. I've been looking everywhere for her, but I can't find her. Klaus thinks that she abandoned me and I should just move on with my life, but my aunt looked after me when my own parents couldn't anymore. Something terrible had to of happened to her." Caroline lets out a long sigh, rubbing at her forehead. "I just need to know that she's okay. That's all."

Elijah nods slowly. "Your dedication to your family is admirable," he says.

A thought crosses Caroline's mind and she feels like she has to ask, despite all that she's said. "Have you..." she blinks a few times, trying to organize her thoughts and open her heart to the question that she's asked about a million times in the last two years. "My aunt is a werewolf named Cassandra Claire. Have you..." she stares back into the eyes of the old vampire across the table. "Have you seen a werewolf by that name?"

Elijah blinks a few times, thinking about it before shaking his head. "No, I'm sorry. The name is not familiar and I've only run into a handful of werewolves in the last ten years. Your breed is a rare one. I'm sorry."

Caroline wilts, pushing her food away, no longer having an appetite. "No, it's okay." She sighs, rubbing her forehead. She can feel the stress and disappointment settle heavy on her shoulders once more. She's tried so hard, yet it feels like she's doing nothing. She doesn't want to admit that it feels like she's losing faith, because she is. She keeps building up this hope that someone is going to say yes. That they are going to have seen her and know where she is now. Know that she's okay, which is all that Caroline wanted.

She stuffs down that feeling, that pain that slices through her chest every time her heart beats knowing that her aunt is out there, probably in danger, but she's grown so exhausted and she hates this feeling.

She has to bury this feeling again for the thousandth time. Instead, she wants to talk about something else, something interesting that will get her mind off of the pain and disappointment stabbing at her chest. She rubs at her face, feeling the moisture on her eyes as unshed tears start to build up and she forces them down with the pain and disappointment. She takes a deep breath and quickly rubs her face and then turns to Klaus. "Do you guys want to get out of here?"

His eyebrows shoot toward his hairline in surprise. "Caroline, I'll have you know I am not that sort of man. And my brother of all people?"

She sends him a dirty look. "That's not what I meant. I'm talking about going somewhere I can show you something. I did what you asked. I tried to see if there was something about me that was weird, well I found something. But I need your three millennia advanced brains to be able to figure out what it means." Instead of looking insulted, he looks honestly curious.

"You figured out something more?"

Caroline nods. "Let's go somewhere that's not here so I can show you."

As they walk down the darkening streets of Mystic Falls, Caroline fills Elijah in on the little bit of weird stuff that circles her life. Her werewolf bloodline skipping over her   
mother, who's killed people before but for some reason is unable to trigger it, to the aches and pains that she sometimes gets leading up to the full moon, how bad her body reacts afterword, stuff like that.

Elijah was curious by it too, thankfully enough. He threw around his own theories, but ultimately wasn't all that sure one way or the other what was wrong with her. It isn't anything crazy that is world-shattering so the interest is peripheral, which Caroline can understand.

Caroline stops between the two brothers, staring up at the big mansion they lead her to. She blinks a few times before looking over at Klaus on her right side. "Please don't tell me that you bought this today."

He laughs, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "Sorry, love, but not this time. This is the abode we've been staying in since we got here to Mystic Falls."

Caroline shakes her head in disbelief. "Your ability to throw around money like it's nothing both amazes me and makes me kind of hate you." He laughs again. "You laugh, Klaus, but I mean it."

He drapes his arm over her shoulder and leads her inside the house into one of the side rooms with a large, luxurious fireplace, lighting it and mending it until it can be left alone. Then, she had the attention of both brothers. Caroline figures that if this wasn't something that Klaus wanted Elijah to know about, then he wouldn't be standing there, staring at her expectantly.

"Okay," Caroline says, dropping her backpack onto the floor. "So, the full moon this month has already passed, right?"

"Indeed," Elijah says, accepting the glass of whiskey that Klaus passes to him, taking a sip before placing it on the table next to him. Klaus holds his own glass whimsically, looking at her, patiently waiting for her to continue.

"Watch this." Klaus watches as Caroline walks over to him, looking between both brothers before closing her eyes and focusing. She takes a deep breath, feeling for the moon, even though it's at one of its weakest points she calls to it. She can feel its energy sprinkle into the house and seep into her flesh and then her bones. In her mind's eye, it's like twinkling starlight absorbing into her being. She loves this feeling. It makes her feel more attached to the moon. Like if she wanted to, she could transform into the wolf now.

Rationally, her brain knows that she can't but still, it feels like she could if she wanted to.

But pushing beyond that, she lets the energy sink into her before opening her eyes to look between the brothers. Both of their lips part as Klaus stands up from where he's sitting and Elijah pushes away from the mantle he was leaning against but doesn't move closer. Not like Klaus who walks over, placing the glass down on the table and cupping her face, blue eyes wide.

He stares down into her eyes, hypnotized. His thumbs run lightly beneath her eyes in awe, similarly to what she had done to him before.

"How is this possible?" Elijah asks, walking around Klaus so he can look into her eyes. "You are not a hybrid... yet your eyes..."

"You can tap into your werewolf side..." Klaus says slowly, a wicked smile crossing over his full lips, "without the aid of the full moon."


	6. It's me, Caroline

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline looks over Klaus's shoulder to the mirror over the mantle next to where Elijah stood. Her golden eyes stare back at her - her own version of melted gold - but she lacked the black irises that Klaus had. No doubt it stemmed from his vampire nature. Yes, she remembered before he destroyed his curse that blackness was always prevalent in his sclera.

She laughs, a sudden thought crossing her mind. She turns her gold eyes to Klaus. "Blond hair and gold eyes? What an ugly look. At least with your dusty blond hair and black sclera, it breaks the colors up better." Caroline shakes her head. "Got to one-up me again, I see."

Klaus purses his lips in a playful smile. He cups her face to stare down into her eyes, curiously. He looks enraptured by her. "Not at all, darling. I like to think that your eyes are the most beautiful I have seen."

Caroline rolls those 'most beautiful' eyes, letting the energy of the moon out of her pores and she feels the inner shift change her eyes back to their normal blue. The tingling sensation across her skin that she usually only felt when laying with Klaus was brimming lightly beneath the top layers of her flesh, and it fades with the moonlight. She's not sure if it's a conditioned response to Klaus because he's the only person who brings that feeling out in her, or if it's something that the moonlight does to her. She just doesn't know.

"More beautiful than my normal eyes?" Caroline asks playfully.

Klaus flashes a bit of his teeth with his smile. "To me, love, they are both your normal eyes."

Caroline laughs, shaking her head as she pulls his hands from her face. "That was the charming right answer, Klaus. I applaud you."

Klaus laughs softly, eyes crinkling a bit more with his smile. "Thank you, love."

Caroling looks down at his hands wrapped up in her own. She laces her fingers through his before looking between the two brothers, Elijah is still staring at her, but his mind appears like it's elsewhere. He blinks a few times when he realizes her eyes are on him. She says, softly, "So, have you two geezers seen anything like that before? A werewolf who can do that?"

Despite his astonishment, it was Elijah who spoke first. "Yes, in fact. The only werewolf, aside from Niklaus now, that I know of that could partially transform," he looks over at Klaus as if the two were melding minds with just the linking of their eyes, "would be pregnant werewolves. They cannot change on the full moon, but during the night, they are able to partially transform, if my memory serves me."

Klaus nods. "Yes, but that is only on the night of the full moon, not in the days that follow." He turns his blue eyes back to Caroline. "No, what you are doing is... odd indeed, but honestly fascinating."

"But you don't know how this is possible?" Caroline asks.

Klaus shakes his head, still studying her eyes. "No, love, but I am more than happy to see if I can figure it out."

Caroline feels a little bit better knowing that there was someone else out there that was looking out for her. Even if it was to fulfill his own self-interest, Caroline couldn't help but feel better knowing that Klaus was looking into the strangeness too.

"Okay," Caroline says before she remembers the other thing she wanted to show him. "Oh, hey, so look at this. You know about witchy hoodoo voodoo, stuff, right?"  
Caroline pulls her hands away from his to kneel down and dig around in her backpack until she pulls out the thin, silver dagger with strange writings on the handle and along the blade that she had wrapped up in a leather bind to stop it from cutting up all of her stuff. She holds it up for him to see. "This looks like something cool that you would like, right?"

Klaus takes the knife from her, pulling off the leather binding to stare at the carvings into the silver metal. His lips part as he turns the blade toward the light of the fireplace. Elijah turns his head a bit, looking at the metal with his eyebrows pulling together.

His dark eyes skim the carvings before looking up at Caroline. "Where did you acquire this?"

Caroline shrugs her shoulders. "Honestly? Someone gave it to me. I helped out this witch from an ordeal and she gave it to me. She said it belonged to a witch of impressive power that lived a long time ago. She said it was blessed by the witch for her werewolf lover or something like that."

Klaus's full lips press together into a thin line before looking back at Caroline. "Do you know what this is?"

Caroline shrugs her shoulders. "Not really, no. But do you?"

Is it just her or do his eyes look like they're misting up a bit? "I do..." he says softly, staring at her. Elijah's eyebrows pull together as he looks at the side of his brother's head.

"Do you want it?" Caroline asks. He looks like he's in pain. So many emotions flicker in his eyes and Caroline feels like he's afraid. Like he wants it but doesn't want to put into words that he wants it. She's not sure why that is, but there was still so much about him that she didn't know. Klaus was very old and is a very complex person. She could tell he wanted it, but couldn't find the words for it, so she asks, instead. "How about we make a deal, then?"

His eyebrows pull together a bit. "What sort of deal?"

"I'll trade you that knife for a place to stay for a few days," Caroline says, shrugging her shoulders. Elijah gives her a sideways look, at first confused, and then it seems like he realized what she was doing.

"Caroline," Klaus says, finally looks away from the knife to the girl in front of him. "I was going to let you stay, anyway. You don't have to barter your way into staying here."

"You know I don't like handouts," Caroline says, keeping her voice light like she didn't really care one way or the other. "So how about it? Fair trade? I get a couple of nights free to stay over and you get to keep that old knife?"

Klaus considers for a moment, looking down at the knife for a moment before nodding. "Yes. That's a fair trade." He stares at her for a moment, thinking about something before looking back down at the knife.

"If you guys don't mind, I think I'm going to shower and get some sleep before it gets too late, I'm exhausted." She looks between both brothers. "Enjoy your new knife. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight..." Klaus says, walking over to the couch to sit down, still looking at the knife.

"I'll show you to your room," Elijah says pleasantly, casting one more look at his brother before gesturing for her to follow him. He leads her back to foyer then to the stairways and leading her up one side. Once they reach the hall at the top, he leads her past a few rooms before opening one and stepping aside. "Here we are, hopefully, it'll be comfortable for you."

"Elijah, I'm used to sleeping on a bench or couches of party friends," Caroline says easily, placing her backpack onto the ground next to the bed before turning to look at the polished vampire standing respectfully just inside the doorway. "So, anything with a touch of padding would be a blessing."

"Why do you choose to live like that?" Elijah asks, eyebrows pulling together. "Niklaus fancies you. I'm sure he would allow you to stay here free of charge."

Caroline waits a moment, hoping that Klaus wasn't listening in, which he wasn't she could hear him pouring himself a drink down in the other room still. She lowers her voice and says, softly, "I... know. I know he would. But..." she steps closer to him. "Klaus has been so nice to me. He's really been helping me out when he didn't have to. I'm selfish enough to ask for a few nights, but not to make him feel like he has to keep helping me. I'm not sure if I sound foolish for saying this, but he's... well, he's my friend. I don't want to make it seem like I'm using him."

Elijah's eyes narrow slightly, not in anger or annoyance but in curiosity. "You... are an interesting person, Caroline. I thank you for being so thoughtful with my brother. He's a complex individual that doesn't make friends easily or for long, but you have proven to be very kind. Perhaps kinder than my brother deserves, but I thank you."

"Trust me," Caroline says, shaking her head. "I'm getting more from our friendship than he is."

"Monetary things perhaps," Elijah agrees placatingly. "But you offer my brother something I don't think he's had in abundance for a long time. At least not since he and I went our separate ways." Caroline raises an eyebrow at him, curiously. Elijah elaborates, "Companionship. Decent human companionship."

Caroline gives him a look. "I'm not sure that I would call it that."

"Your relationship with my brother appears to be complex," Elijah admits, carefully dancing across the fact that it's obvious that the two of them were in a sexual relationship that is starting to expand into an actual friendship. But they weren't exactly hiding it. Just not outwardly addressing it. "But I would like to think that I'm a good judge of character, although there are parts of my life that prove otherwise, most of the time it's pretty spot on. As I see it, you are welcome in this house with our family."

Caroline feels a strong emotion well up in her chest that she quickly stomps down. "Thank you, Elijah, but I don't want to wear out my welcome. I know that our relationship - Klaus and mine - really works because we don't spend enough time getting on each other's nerves. We stay together just long enough before we start to get those annoying snippets of each other and move on. It works."

"But aren't you tired of running?" Elijah asks softly, brown eye kind.

Caroline sighs, staring back into his eyes. "Yes," she admits. "I am so tired of running all the time. But I don't have anywhere to go. I can't go back to Cassie's house, not without her. And I can't go back to live with my parents, not as I am. And to be honest, it's been long enough that I don't really remember where they live anymore." Caroline shrugs her shoulders before crossing her arms over her chest. "As dumb as it sounds..." she says softly, avoiding Elijah's eyes. "All I have now is Klaus."

"That's not dumb," Elijah disagrees, and he sounds genuine about it. "My brother... he bonds with people in a way I don't understand. But I like you, Caroline. And I don't think this can be considered using Niklaus and believe me, no one can pressure him to do anything he doesn't want."

Caroline smiles at that. "Yeah, he's pretty headstrong."

Elijah smiles lightly back at her. "You could say that." He looks down at his suit, straightening it out and removing invisible dust from it.

"I don't know what to do," Caroline admits. "Maybe I'll think more about it. For now, a few days. That's all I'll ask for."

Elijah tips his head respectfully. "I can respect that. Rest now, Caroline. I shall leave you."

He turns to do just that when she calls out to him. "Elijah, wait." He does, turning to face her once more. "That knife. Was it alright to give it to him? Klaus, I mean. He looked so sad."

Elijah considers for a long moment before nodding. "Yes. It was right for him to have it. That knife appears as though it belonged to our mother." Elijah stares off for a moment. "And gifted it to Niklaus's true father."

Caroline opens her mouth, wanting to ask for more, but realizes that Elijah isn't the one she wants to ask. She wanted Klaus to tell her about it, but only because he wanted to. He confessed to being the product of adultery from his mother and one of the hated werewolf neighbors. But he didn't say much more about it. So, she closes her mouth and nods.

"Thank you, Elijah."

"You're welcome. Thank you, Caroline."

With that, Elijah leaves, and he kindly enough closes the door for her behind himself.

Caroline waits a moment, mind whirling about a lot of things. Klaus's family, his mom, dad, and brother. The chances it was for her to be gifted with something that once belonged to Klaus's mother. Meeting Elijah and him turning out to be really nice. Having run into Klaus out of pure luck. The fact that even Klaus's brother was okay with her just freeloading off of Klaus.

She lets out a long, drawn-out sigh, turning to admire the room and attached bathroom. No matter how much time she spends with Klaus, she simply can't get over the constant lap of luxury that he lives in. It's so different from the two other sides of her life. Living homeless on the street and living as lower, middle class with her aunt. She walks around the room, admiring it all for a few minutes before finally turning on the shower.

She looks into the mirror at herself. Her long blond hair pulled up into a messy bun. Her blue eyes are slightly bloodshot from inadequate sleep. She is wearing Klaus's long sleeve henley that she stole from him the first time that they were together. It's much more worn out now. It's fraying a bit around the hem, but she loved it.

Maybe if this doesn't work out and she decides to leave again, she'll steal another one of his shirts.

***

Caroline opens her eyes, seeing the moonlight filtering in through the curtains. She's tired, but it doesn't feel right, being alone in this room. She's been tossing and turning since she collapsed into the soft bed. She slowly pulls the covers off of her body and walks to the door, opening it up and looking into the dark hallway. She listens to the quiet house, honing in on the other two other heartbeats and breathing patterns, straining her ears until she can hone in on Klaus's.

She's spent many nights listening to the sound of Klaus's breathing. Now she can separate it from Elijah's. She walks down the hall, slowly, following the sound of Klaus's breathing all the way to his bedroom. Naturally, it's probably the largest in the house and actually decorated compared to the one that she occupies that is set up more for aesthetic, rather than because someone was actually living in it. Klaus's room holds his personality. Small little things scattered about that accented Klaus Mikaelson.

Caroline stops at the door, staring in at his sleeping form. He's lying on his back in bed with the moonlight turning his already pale skin paperwhite across his bare chest. She can see his chest rise and fall, and hear his even heart beating.

She blinks a few times, returning her senses back to normal. She opens her mouth, about to call out to him, when he speaks first, "Come to me, little wolf, I can't very well sleep with you tossing and turning so far away."

Caroline closes her mouth, closing the door behind her softly before walking across the room slowly and lifts the silken sheets and lays her head down on his shoulder, curling around him. And it's different. He feels like Klaus, except now, he's burning hot. His body is on fire. Not slightly cold like she was used to. He was warmer than even she was.

Maybe it was his hybrid nature that makes it so.

At first, Caroline wondered if the heat would burn her alive, but then she wrapped herself around him like she always did and it felt perfect. He turns onto his side, wrapping around her too, burying his nose into her hair and breathing deeply. And so does she. She breathes him in deeply. He took a shower before bed, too, she can smell his body wash and shampoo. She presses her face into his chest, letting her hand run up and down the smooth plains of his back. She feels a rumble in his chest as he pulls her closer.

Every inch of her body feels like it's on fire. They bonded so well together before he awakened his werewolf blood, but now that he has, she feels like they are two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly together. Something about being with him felt so perfectly right. That tingle that she felt before is now a thousandfold stronger. Perhaps she is the only one that feels this way, but honestly, she loves this feeling. Perhaps it's a werewolf thing.

"Klaus," Caroline whispers, snuggling into his chest, her body being blasted with that wonderful scent that is making her feel dizzy.

"Caroline..."

"I know this is going to sound weird but I have to," Caroline says, feeling like she could finally fall asleep. "You feel amazing."

Klaus's laugh is soft and breathless in the quiet night as he presses full lips against her forehead before relaxing against her as the sleep begins to claim both of them. Just as Caroline is about to fall asleep, listening to the sound of Klaus's heart beating, she hears him softly whisper into the night, "And you, little wolf, feel absolutely divine."

***

"You want to take me on a date around Mystic Falls and you're inviting your big brother to come with?" Caroline asks, her eyebrows raising toward her hairline as she gives the hybrid a sideways glance.

"Don't mind him, love, my dear brother simply doesn't trust me to uphold my end of our bargain," Klaus says flippantly, casting a high browed look of his own toward his brother.

Elijah looks over at his brother in a manner that wasn't so amused. Caroline rolls her eyes, wondering what it was that they were talking about but decided that it probably wasn't any of her business so she lets it be. She looks around at all the little shops of downtown Mystic Falls.

Caroline looks over at herself in one of the shop windows, feeling pretty in her high waisted jeans that were torn at the knees, sleeveless yellow shirt and worn sneakers. Klaus's top level of vanity - or perhaps it's something his female friends left behind - but she found and straightener that she used to artfully curl her mid-back length hair.  
She didn't have to carry around a huge backpack and she felt crazy light and pretty for the first time in a long time. Klaus got her one of those phone covers with the little slot in the back for I.D and a card, she felt the lightest she's ever been. She is used to carrying her entire life on her back. It's only with Klaus that she can leave her entire life somewhere and trust that it's going to be stolen.

"I'll be okay," Caroline says, looking over at the two brothers. "If you have something that you have to do, don't let me get in your way. I'm just going to explore a bit. I'll call you if I get lost." She looks in a few different windows of the shops as they pass.

"Have you been here before?" Elijah asks.

The question kind of surprised her. "No," she says, then admits, "Well, I don't think so. I've been so many places that everything starts to kind of blend together when you haven't the time to really take it all in. This place is somewhat familiar but that could be because I've seen a dozen like it."

"That makes sense," Elijah says carefully, "but I don't know how I feel about leaving a young girl alone in a strange city."

"I'm not a young girl," Caroline says automatically. "I'm seventeen. Which I know is basically nothing to the two men who watched the first sunrise that there ever was, but I'm basically an adult in today's day and age."

She catches Klaus's wily smile in the reflection of one of the shops and she had to face forward to hide her own.

"Yes, well, you are still young to human standards, and the world is a dangerous place. Why, Niklaus, if you so fancy Caroline, do you allow her to wonder about the streets? She's a young werewolf."

"And I have offered many times for her to simply stay with me, but I have this terrible nack of losing her when she wishes to leave," Klaus says. "What would you have me do? Tie her down? She doesn't wish to stay so I won't force it."

"Now is the time that you show temperance in the form of your controlling nature?" Elijah asks in disbelief, shaking his head as he neatly folds one of the rolls of his sleeves to make them equal again on his forearms. Klaus watches the motion with pursed red lips, looking annoyed.

"He called you out on being an ancient, impulsive control freak," Caroline jests, grinning at the annoyed look pointed in her direction now.

Klaus huffs, looking like he's trying to decide which point he's going to argue about. "Would you have me force you to stay? Strip away your freedom you covet so closely?"

"No," Caroline admits, feeling claustrophobic just thinking about it. "And I know that you could so thank you for not." She hesitates a moment, considering something before turning to look at Klaus. "Do you want me to stay? To hang around for a bit?"

Klaus opens his mouth, ready to continue to defend his uncharacteristically noble position when he processes her words. He blinks a few times, licking his lips stained red with new blood flowing through his system before saying, "Yes. I would much like for you to stay." He narrows his eyes, walking closer to her to stare down into her eyes. "Why? Are you thinking about staying for a while?"

"I don't know," Caroline admits, she reaches up, twirling one of the blond curls and Klaus's eyes watch the movement for a moment before returning to her own eyes. "I am honestly worn down, Klaus. I want to find my aunt. I'll never stop looking. But I'm coming to face the very real reality that I might be running around in circles looking for her and missing very important leads because I'm all over the place." Caroline blinks a few times, feeling her heart rate pick up. And judging from the way that Klaus tilts his head, he must have heard it. "I'm scared," she admits, "because I'm considering staying for a bit. But it's got to be on my time, Klaus. I could up and leave whenever, but I know that it makes you made when I just go."

Klaus sucks in a deep breath, saying evenly, "No. I don't like it when you just up and leave, but at least I don't hold you back."

"I know," Caroline says softly. "Thank you for that. But will you be able to let me go in a month when I have to go? Or in a year? We've been keeping our time together manageable. Will me offering to stay longer ruin that?"

"No," Klaus says right away, then a small half-smile graces those full lips. "I think we'll be fine."

Caroline hopes that he believes that as much as the swell in her chest makes her believe it, even if only for a moment. Her heart is pounding her chest and she places both her hands over it hoping to smother the noise a bit. "I'm scared. We have something really good. You'll tell me to go if you feel like I'm ruining it, right?"

"You're not going to - "

Caroline looks into his eyes. "I know what you are trying to say. But promise me. I like what we have. I like the closeness. I like the realness of it. The genuine feeling. I like the way that you look at me. I don't want anything to change that. So please, promise me."

Klaus looks like he wants to argue, but decides that it's easier to just agree. So he nods. And rolls his eyes, looking annoyed, but she chooses to ignore the rest of that. 

When she gives him a look, he says, "Fine, Caroline, fine. I promise."

"Good," Caroline says, clenching her hands tighter over her shirt, praying that her pounding heart would start to slow down. She takes a few deep breaths turning slowly to see a man standing next to her.

She nearly jumps out of her skin, gasping loudly and almost falling into Klaus next to her. Thankfully the scream that wanted to escape her came out more like a violent, choking gasp. And the second one kind of hurt. She'd have preferred the shrill shriek. But she would probably have been the only one.

"Are you okay?" The man asks Caroline, casting a mistrusting look Klaus's way, despite the cordial smile that crosses the latter's face.

"Stefan," Klaus says, placing a hand on Caroline's lower back to keep her steady. "Fancy seeing you here."

The man, Stefan, gives Klaus another look before turning green eyes toward Caroline and asking again, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Caroline says, finding her voice. She rubs at her chest for a moment before pulling her shoulder out of Klaus's chest and giving him a bit of space. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Is he hurting you?" Stefan asks. His dark hair is styled up, making him appear young but Caroline is can tell that he's not only a vampire, but he's got quite a few years on him. Hanging around with Klaus is really starting to help her pick up on vampires. Thankfully she doesn't have to worry about this one killing her in front of Klaus. But she'll still have to be careful.

Caroline's eyes flicker over to Klaus as her eyebrows shoot for her hairline. "Wow, whoever he is, he is not a friend of yours."

"Quite the contrary, love, Stefan is a very old friend. From the twenties."

"Ahh," Caroline says, dropping her hands to her side. "Elijah mentioned something about it being hard for you to keep friends for long."

That comment looks like it put both her and Elijah in the dog house. She mouths an apology to the oldest of them right after the scathing look Klaus sends his way. Elijah accepts both of them with dignity.

"I'm fine," Caroline says.

"I could tell you were uncomfortable," Stefan says, and there is genuine kindness in his eyes. "Your body language," he elaborates when she just stares at him. Maybe he doesn't realize what she is, or he simply doesn't care. Either way... kindness was the least of her expectations.

Caroline nods slowly. "Well, thank you, Stefan, was it? But I'm okay. Just awkwardly bearing my soul out on a bright sunny day. But, uh, thank you for checking in. That was sweet of you."

"I think he did more so because I was here than your supposed body language, love," Klaus says, giving Stefan this look she doesn't recognize, a dangerous gleam in those blue depths.

"Calm down, Niklaus," Elijah says diplomatically. "Ah, hello, Elena."

Caroline's eyes flicker over to the pretty brunette walking up from across the street with another man at her side. Tall, dark hair and the bluest eyes Caroline has ever seen. And she's seen her fair share of pretty blue eyes.

"Elena, wonderful to see you," Klaus says, smiling charmingly at the girl, despite the weary look she sends back at him. And then Caroline feels it. This strange, angry green feeling that she has never felt before. But she doesn't know what the word is for it. But for a split second, Caroline wanted nothing more than to use her enhanced werewolf strength to shove this beautiful girl as hard as she could back across the street where she belonged.

The feeling came on so fast and filled her with such a terrible ache in her gut that it felt like she was stabbed about a thousand times when the girl turns pretty dark brown eyes toward her and asks, kindly. "Are you okay?"

And Caroline hates herself.

She's not sure where that feeling came from or why it came on so strong, but she stomps it down deep into her gut and prays it never resurfaces again. "I'm okay," she chokes out. "Thanks."

"He's not hurting you, is he?" She asks.

Caroline looks over at Klaus to see he looks just as annoyed as she felt. She turns her blue eyes back to the girl. "No. He didn't. Why do people keep asking me that?"

"Uh, because Klaus is Satan," the blue-eyed man says, shrugging his shoulders. "And everyone he comes into contact with dies. Horribly, I might add."

"Watch your words wisely, Damon, I'm having a good day and your voice is wearing down on my nerves," Klaus growls. Caroline looks at the man next to her to see his features darken with anger and annoyance.

Damon doesn't look afraid, stepping closer to Klaus with narrowed eyes. Klaus's hand that was on Caroline's back slides around to her stomach and pushes her back against the glass of the shop behind her and out of the way. Caroline realizes at that moment, the sweet smell that Klaus has been giving out since she met him yesterday vanished completely.

Somehow she knew it was because he'd been... what? The werewolf equivalent to courting her. Impressing her wolf with this sweet scent he was giving off, even if he didn't know it. Because she was doing it back to him and she didn't even know it. But her aunt had mentioned something about the wolves being able to communicate using pheromones that their human brains could only partially decipher. Because that sweet smell is gone, his wolf must have turned off the charm and turned on the anger.

Because Klaus is looking mad.

Elijah and Stefan both step in to separate the two men, though Stefan looks like he's doing it more for Damon's sake than for Klaus's but then again maybe the same can be said for Elijah. No doubt Klaus has at least a few hundred years on Damon being an Original, and in the vampire world, that is a significant amount of power.

"Damon, stop," the girl says, eyebrows pulling together tightly. "Not here. Not like this."

"He's dangerous," Damon argues. "I thought you were leaving town, Klaus. What are you still doing here?"

"I don't feel the need to keep you informed of my plans, Damon," Klaus growls.

"Hey! What is going on over here?"

The sound of another voice seems to clog than angry, male vampire testosterone that was flooding Damon and Klaus's brains and pull everyone's eyes over to a petite blond woman walking across the street away from a police cruiser, dressed as an officer of the law. Strange, Caroline has never really been in trouble with the law. She's managed to stay out of their line of sight even while on the road, yet social norms make her nervous once the woman approaches.

"Damon?" The officer asks, looking at the dark-haired man. "What's going on?"

Damon glares at Klaus for a split second longer before smiling chillingly and turning toward the officer. "We were just arguing over a bad poker game last night, Liz."

The officer gives him an odd look, definitely like she doesn't believe him when the girl says, "Everything is okay, Sheriff Forbes. We were just leaving."

Caroline's heart tries to launch out of her chest but ends up slamming painfully against her breastplate. The action was so loud that all four enhanced vampires turned to look at her as her throat closed up, staring at the woman in front of her. She dimly heard Elijah call out to her with an, "Are you okay?" as Klaus touches her arm, but she couldn't pull her eyes away from the officer. Those blue eyes. That blond hair. That voice that now sounds so painfully familiar she has no idea how she couldn't have just automatically known who she was.

"Liz" Caroline rasps, pulling the woman's curious eyes over to her. "Elizabeth Forbes?"

Now everyone was looking at her oddly and for a moment, when the woman's name left her lips, she expected that same feeling that Caroline had to cross over this woman's face. The remembrance. The realization. But it didn't. It was just met with open confusion.

"Yes?" Liz says slowly, looking Caroline up and down but not even a flicker of recognition crosses her face. And it hurts Caroline. It shouldn't she knew that this was a very likely outcome yet still this hurt more than she thought was fair. "Do I know you?"

"I should hope so," Caroline says bitterly, feeling wave after wave of pain and frustration slam into her chest, making it hard to breathe. "It's me. Caroline. Your daughter."


	7. Gentlemen's Agreement

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

There is visible confusion all across the board. It seems like none of them were ready for those words to slip past Caroline's lips. And honestly, she wasn't either, and she's sure there was probably a better way for going about saying that, but at the moment, she was so hurt and upset that her own mother wouldn't recognize her that she felt the verbal slap in the face was warranted. It probably wasn't but she's never really had the best control over herself when it came to her parents.

She just gets weird about it.

Liz blinks a few times rapidly, her jaw dropping to her chest. "Caroline? Is that..? What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Where is Cassie?"

Now was as good a time as any to come out with the truth. "All great questions. You wouldn't have happened to of heard from Cassie recently, have you?"

Liz blinks a few times, "No, not recently. Why? Where is she?"

Caroline shakes her head slowly. "Another great question. I have no idea." She crosses her arms over her chest, feeling like she was using the action more to shield herself   
rather than to look assertive. "I haven't seen her in two years. I was hoping that you've heard from her."

Liz looks distressed. "Oh my gosh, Caroline! You haven't seen Cassie in two years? What have you been up to? Why didn't you call me?"

"I've been looking for her," Caroline says. Something had to of scared her away. Caroline still believes this with all her heart. Her aunt would just leave for no apparent reason. "And I was hoping that she would just find her way back like she always did, but then days turned into weeks and before I knew it almost two months passed. By then, I knew I had to go look for her myself."

"She's left you alone before?" Liz asks, eyebrows furrowing in disbelief. "Christ, what is she doing?" She runs her hand through her hair. "Okay, I'm going to run to the station get into contact with some friends and file a missing person's report, then, you are coming home with me." She waves her hand. "Come with me, Caroline."

"No, thank you," Caroline says easily, shaking her head. "I'm already staying with a friend. If you hear anything about Cassie, text me."

Liz's jaw drops. "Caroline, what has gotten into you? Where are you staying?"

Caroline holds up her hands to keep some physical distance between them. She's not sure what she would do otherwise. She wouldn't hurt her mother, of course, but honestly, this woman is a stranger to her. She may have helped bring Caroline into this world and somewhat supported her financially these last few years, but there isn't any connection. There isn't a mother-daughter relationship between the two of them. There hasn't been a connection between them since Caroline was nine years old.

"I'm staying with friends," Caroline says, stepping closer to Klaus, relieved when he places a hand on her waist, protectively. "And listen, don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine. I've been fine for two years. I'm going to stay as I am, alright?"

Liz shakes her head. "No, I'm not going to do that, Caroline. I'm your mother."

Caroline smells that sweet scent coming from Klaus again and she casts him a sideways look once more to see that his anger has dissipated, but he watches the group curiously. When her eyes land on his face, he looks back at her slowly. His pretty eyes stare into her own and the pain in her heart lessens a bit. She has to accept this reality; this parentless, auntless, runaway, homeless, cursed werewolf, lone-wolf existence.

But Klaus doesn't see her like that. He's always been there for her when she needed him. He's always been more than she dared to ask for. And she knows there is a feeling that is building up inside of her when it comes to him and while she doesn't want to put it into words, she knows that she feels it. And like she said before, she liked the realness between them. She liked the way that he looked at her.

"We haven't had a mother-daughter connection in a long time," Caroline says softly, finding the strength to pull her eyes away from Klaus. "I'm okay now. I don't need it. What I do need is to know if Cassie is okay. So if you figure something out, please let me know."

Liz looks shocked and Caroline feels bad. She wished that there was a better way to go about this. In some sick way, she wished that her mom was some evil bitch that didn't look hurt at her words. At least that would have made all of this easier, but she looks sad and hurt. And Caroline understands that. She doesn't think any of it was intentional, it is just a natural course of action for all their time apart.

"I'm not going to just pretend we are strangers, Caroline," Liz says, her eyebrows pulling together tightly. "If I had known that something was wrong, I would have come to help you immediately."

Caroline feels pain and pity in her chest. She had imagined this moment quite a few times, fearing that it may be inevitable, but she hadn't imagined it would hurt like this. Caroline believes that Liz wants to be a good mom, and maybe if given a chance, she still could be. But Caroline isn't looking for a mom. She hasn't in a long time. She's looking for her aunt. The woman who raised her.

"I've stopped staying up at night begging for a mom," Caroline says softly, hoping that it came out more tender and less patronizing. She didn't want to dig at old wounds or put something out into the ether that isn't true. It's all just facts now. "I'm okay now, mom. I've moved on with my life. And it's okay. I'm not here to make you feel like a bad person, okay? I just came into town looking for Cassie, is all."

Liz's eyes water and she looks heartbroken and Caroline feels bad. "Caroline, let's talk somewhere else, okay? We should talk."

Caroline stares at her for a long second, then shakes her head. "No. I'm sorry. I can't right now."

"Hey," Damon says, "she's your mom, man. Talk to her."

"Maybe you should talk to her..." the girl, Elena says softly, staring at her with wide brown eyes. "She's your mom."

"I don't think this is any of your business, mate," Klaus says, glaring at Damon.

"I don't think this is any of your business either, friend," Damon says, narrowing pretty blue eyes. "This is between a mother and her kid."

"I think you should listen to your own advice," Caroline says, glaring at Damon too. "This is between us and I decided not to deal with it right at this moment because I'm busy. So shove your nose into something that isn't my business." She's not sure if she was defending herself, Klaus, or both, but she felt she had to say something. "Butt out, alright?"

"She's your mom," Damon snaps. "Show her some respect."

"Damon," Liz says, rubbing her tears away. "Don't worry about this. I've got it."

"No, Liz, you don't deserve to be treated like that."

Caroline shakes her head, hating that somehow he was making her feel like an asshole for not wanting to deal with this right now, turning to look at Klaus, hoping that she didn't look as broken as she felt. She hated it when others had that much emotional control over her. To be honest, the angry little voice in her head reminds her that there was someone else that had a lot of emotional control over her, but at least he's never used it on her.

"I'm ready to go," Caroline says, staring into Klaus's eyes. "Please, take me anywhere that isn't here."

Klaus nods, taking her hand in his own, lacing their fingers together. "Let's go, love."

"Wait, what? With him? Who is this?" Liz asks, moving to step in front of Caroline again. She looks at Klaus. "Who are you? How do you know my daughter?"

"Klaus Mikaelson, Sheriff," Klaus says, offering a pursed lipped smile. "And it's been my pleasure to help look after your daughter this last year."

Liz stares at him, her eyebrows pulled together tightly. "What does that mean?"

"Mom," Caroline says, not liking the way Liz was looking at Klaus. "Klaus is my friend, and as he said, he's been looking after me this last year. He helps me on the night of the full moon. He helps me when I need a place to stay. He loans me money when I'm struggling. He helps me. Don't worry about Klaus and me, okay? We're alright."

"I..." Liz looks like she wants to say something, but doesn't have the words for it.

And Caroline feels bad again. She hates feeling like this, so she caves, wondering if she was being unfair. "We can talk. Later. Not now. Not today. I'm sorry, but I'm not able to do this today. I'm more interested in finding my missing aunt than trying to figure out where the heck to go from here with you. I'm sorry."

Liz presses her lips together tightly, nodding slowly. Damon opens his mouth, about to say something but Liz gives him a sharp look, with a hard, "I've got this, Damon. Thanks." Then she turns to Caroline, nodding again. "Okay, Caroline. But please, your seventeen. Let me take care of you."

Caroline stares back at her, feeling weak and tired. She shakes her head slowly. "I've been taking care of myself just fine for the last two years. I'm about to be eighteen, I've made it this long, for better or for worse. Thank you for the concern but I'm fine. If you can trust anything about me or what I say, trust that I'm going to be okay." She starts to walk away when she stops, smelling that wonderful smell from Klaus again and knowing that what she said next, was the truth, "And a big part of that has to do with Klaus."

Caroline and Klaus, along with Elijah, who stood by quietly during the airing of the Forbes family laundry start to walk away again when a voice calls out to them. "Wait!"   
Caroline presses her forehead into Klaus's shoulder before twisting around to look at the group standing behind them. It was the girl who spoke. When Caroline made eye contact with her, she asks, softly, "Do you remember me?"

Liz presses her lips tightly, looking over at the girl at the same time as the two vampires.

Caroline looks into her pretty brown eyes, studying her face closely. She only vaguely remembers her life here in Mystic Falls. And to be honest, she doesn't remember a lot of the people here, but this girl, she could only be one person. Caroline faintly remembers her childhood friend with the same dark eyes, always so sweet, so kind. A girl named Elena. Just like this girl.

"I do remember you, Elena," Caroline admits. "But it was a very long time ago. And my last memory of us was when Elliott died. We got into a fight and you and Bonnie went to play alone."

"Caroline..." Elena says softly. "What happened all those years ago... it was just an accident. It wasn't your fault."

Caroline shakes her head slowly. "I know it wasn't my fault, Elena. I didn't intend to kill him. I was nine. He came up behind me and pulled my hair and when I flailed around, I knocked him backward. He broke his neck and died. But the curse doesn't care if it was intentional or an accident."

Elena's eyebrows pull together. "What do you mean by that?"

Caroline stares back at the girl who had long ago been a friend, and had things somehow been different, probably would still be, but things were different now. Maybe there was a chance for them to get to know each other and become friends, but she wasn't sure this moment was the right one to explore it. Or to air out any more dirty laundry.  
"Never mind. Maybe I'll see you around." Caroline offers a little smile before nodding at Klaus. "I'm sorry about that. Let's go."

***

Caroline forced it all away, spending the rest of the day wandering around Mystic Falls with the brothers. At some point, during late lunch, early dinner, Caroline finally owned up to her mother, explaining that she hadn't realized that she was now back in her hometown and even explained her strange relationship with her parents. 

Thankfully they didn't offer any unsolicited advice and Klaus was even candid, in part, about his own mother. Most of the time they talked, Caroline wasn't sure if they loved, or resented their mother.

But there was a common enemy amongst them. Mikael. Their father.

Klaus and Elijah could talk about Mikael all day. They warned her about him, about how dangerous he was.

"He's especially dangerous for you, Caroline," Elijah says, interlacing his fingers on the table. Caroline pushes her half-eaten plate away from her and leans back into the curve of Klaus's shoulder in the booth next to her.

"How so?" Caroline asks.

"Our father has always hated the werewolves," Elijah says. "But after the death of our youngest brother, Henrik, enraged him even more. And when the truth came out about our mother's infidelity. I think that was the final straw that tipped him over the edge."

"I guess I can understand that." Caroline nods slowly, looking over at Klaus. "He wasn't very nice to you, was he? You said that you had a bad relationship with your dad."

"My father hated me long before he knew I wasn't his son. I don't know what it was, but there was always something about me that I guess he didn't like," Klaus says evenly, yet Caroline can hear the pain in his voice. Caroline turns a bit in his shoulder to look into his sad eyes, noting how he's just staring at his coffee for a long moment before finally dragging his eyes over to hers.

"Klaus," Caroline says softly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that even now, a thousand years later, that man can still hurt you. Just know, that asshole and his view on you does not define who you are. Mind over matter, handsome." She presses her hands against his cheeks so that he has no choice but to look at her. "I'm not scared of some old racist, child abuser. I'll look after you, old man."

Klaus smiles faintly, but he doesn't look convinced but at least he looks a little bit better. Caroline pats his cheeks a bit before laying back into the curve of his shoulder to look at Elijah. Klaus rests his arm around her shoulders. She grabs his wrist to keep him from pulling his arm away. She feels like he needs this closeness more than even she does.

"Our father's hatred of Niklaus will also be directed at you, Caroline, not just because of your werewolf nature but because of Niklaus's fancy with you," Elijah explains. He turns dark eyes toward Klaus as if to make the point to both of them.

The younger brother frowns at that as Caroline asks, "Wait, so he would kill me just because Klaus showed even an inkling of care for me whether I was a werewolf or not?"   
Her eyes are blown wide, unable to believe that a father could hate his child - even if they aren't linked by blood, he did raise Klaus and that has to mean something, right? - would not only hate the child so much to try to kill him but to also kill those that he cares for. That level of spite is unfathomable.

Caroline has heard enough stories about her own father's hatred for the supernatural to fear that he would simply never speak to her again, but to actively go out of his way to hunt her down and kill her? Kill those she dare just to love, nevermind their own feelings on the matter? That is the type of irredeemable evil that can only be in storybooks.

Yet this is their reality.

Caroline couldn't imagine living her life with the fear of one day her father finding her and killing her. And all those she loved.

"No offense, but your dad is a real jerk," Caroline says, shaking her head in complete disbelief.

Elijah's smile is thin with only a touch of mirth. "That's a very mild way of putting it, but yes. Just be cautious of your surroundings, Caroline, that's all." He laces his fingers on the table.

"Okay," Caroline says, nodding. She reaches up, lacing her own fingers with the hand around her shoulders. She looks at his hand, admiring the little scars that told the story of his life before he became a vampire. Everything else healed up afterward. But he was telling her about the little knicks on the pads of his fingers from widdling - wood carving? - along with knife and sword practice as a young man growing up. The callouses built up there is a full sign of his life. He hasn't lived on of luxury, despite all his money and power.

Staring at his hand made her think of something. "Wait," she tilts her head back to look into Klaus's pretty blue eyes, "If you've been living in this house for a little while, does that mean you have some of your art here?"

"Pardon?" Klaus asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, off-topic, but I was just thinking, I haven't been to a house that you've actually lived in for a little while. You tell me that you do a bit of painting and stuff but I haven't seen any." Klaus presses his lips together and she immediately knows the answer. "No!" She cries out, drawing the attention of the restaurant. She lowers her voice, flushing a bit in embarrassment, waiting for the patrons to return to their meals before saying, softer, "Why does this keep happening to me?"

"I'm sorry," Klaus says, trying to fight the smile working its way across his face. "If I had known a gallerist was coming to inspect my work I would have been better prepared."

Caroline purses her lips a bit. "Good. I'm happy to hear it."

Klaus smiles, then presses his lips onto her hairline and letting out a sigh. They sit in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Caroline unlaces her fingers from Klaus's to just admire his fingers. The rough pads of his fingers marked with thousand-year-old scars. No doubt he's ended so many lives with this hand, yet he's also created life too - in the form of art. She's walked around art galleries listening to him talk on and on about this artist and that, the art faze that this piece was made in or the one that one was made it. None of it made any sense to her, but he seemed to genuinely enjoy it. And admiring art put him at ease, so she didn't mind when the bug came over him while they were together when he wanted to go and admire the nearest gallery.

She thought it was all pretty to look at.

She's not sure when or what point in the silence she started to drift off, but her back was pressed against his chest, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, that wonderful, delicious scent turning her brain into fireworks. At some point, she could hear the brother's talking again while she was drifting somewhere between conscious and unconscious. She could hear their low voices but not really registering what they were saying.

The notification ping of her phone made her jump. She leans up a bit, digging around in her pocket to wiggle out her phone. She rubs at her bleary eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. Caroline sees that it's a text message that reads, "I'm going to call you."

Caroline purses her lips in thought, wondering why she didn't save the number. She has a couple of numbers in her phone from people she's met along the way that she wanted to stay in contact with but was surprised to see that someone had her number, which she didn't usually give out. She would take their number, offer to text them later and if she didn't like them, she would just delete the number and hope that it never came back to bite her.

Her phone lights up with a phone call and she answers. "Hello?"

"Caroline? It's Rodney."

Caroline perks up, shooting into a sitting position with her back ramrod straight. "Rodney, hey! Sorry, I didn't have your number saved."

"Oh, I'm not surprised little lady like you would forget me," the older man laughs. "I mean it's been what? Six months?"

"It has been a while," Caroline admits, running a hand through her hair, being careful of her curls. "So what's going on?"

"I've been hearing some crazy things around here, kid," Rodney says. "I know you got a knack for snooping but I wanted to warn you to stay out of Virginia. A little town called Mystic Falls. The werewolves are doing a lot of talking."

Caroline perks up. "What do you mean? What are they talking about?"

"Apparently there is something bad is coming that way. I'm hearing something old is making its way to Mystic Falls, little lady," Rodney says, taking a moment to cough a few times. He clears his throat and says, concern lacing his voice, "I'm talking old, little girl. Very, very old. Like... Original Vampire old."

Caroline presses her lips closely together, turning to cast a sideways look at Klaus and Elijah, the former of which is smiling charmingly at her, finding humor in this.   
Caroline casts him a sideways look, rolling her eyes. "Are you talking like, the old vampires? Those vamps that were here during the original seven days of creation?"

Klaus grins, blue eyes sparkling with mirth and even Elijah has a little smile of his own. She didn't have the heart to tell him that it was way too late to avoid running into Original Vampires. By at least a year in Klaus's case and since yesterday in Elijah's. But he was a nice old man that was the closest thing Cassie had to a friend.

"I don't think they are that old," Rodney says thoughtfully. "I think vampires have only been around for... what? A thousand years, I think?"

Caroline smothers her laugh. "I'm kidding, Rodney. But I hear you, no gallivanting with Original Vampires." She grins over at Klaus, giggling when he wiggles his eyebrows   
back at her. "Thanks, Rodney," Caroline says. Then, quietly, she asks, "Any news on Aunt Cassie?"

A long, drawn-out sigh. "No, baby girl. I'm sorry. But I've been keeping my ears to the ground and I'll let you know if anything pops up."

"Thanks, Rodney, really. I appreciate it."

"Anything for you, little girl. Remember, stay away from Original Vampires and don't go to Mystic Falls. I hear this Original is a bad guy. He's been gone for some time, but there are always whispers about him. A real monster, I heard. Bad business."

"Oh, I bet he's a real jerk," Caroline jests, her grin matching Klaus's.

"I don't know about any of that, but I know that playing around with vampires and witches is bad business, that's for sure." He clicks a few times. "Just keep yourself safe, okay?"

"I will," Caroline promises. "Thanks."

"Bye, little girl."

"Bye, Rodney." Caroline hangs up her phone and goes to save his number. She must have lost in when she moved on to a new phone. At least she kept the same number. She stares down at her phone for a moment before placing it onto the table.

"So," Klaus says amicably, "Who is this Rodney fellow?"

Caroline casts him another sideways look. "When my aunt first activated her curse, he was the one that took her under his wing. He's probably the closest thing she has to a real friend. At least, he's the only one that she kept in contact with regularly. He owns a place in Iowa, a bar, and it's a place where he can keep his ear to the ground. I asked him to help me keep an ear out for my aunt. But she hasn't yet reached out to him. But he's how I know that something had to of happened. All I know is that someone had been looking for her using private channels, which is code for something bad. It had to be the reason she ran."

"Any idea why they were searching for her and who exactly they are?" Elijah asks.

Caroline shakes her head. "No, and Rodney didn't know either. All he knew was that they went by a very weird name he didn't recognize. I mean, there are so weird names out there but this guy's name was apparently kinda unusual. Then again it is rural Iowa."

"Perhaps we've heard of him," Klaus offers loosely, leaning an elbow on the table and his cheek resting against his cheek against his fist. He raises his eyebrows expectantly. "Why don't you tell us?"

"I don't remember it now," Caroline says. "It was a weird name. Let me text Rodney, I'm sure he remembers." She sends him a quick text again before placing her phone back on the table. "So, tell me about this gentlemen's agreement the two of you made?" She looks between the brothers. "Come on, I told you about my dirty laundry. Own up."

"Our siblings," Elijah says, casting a look at Klaus. "My brother has spirited them away somewhere and I want to find them."

Caroline turns wide, bewildered eyes toward the hybrid. "What? You're holding your siblings hostage? Really, Klaus?"

Klaus smiles not so innocently, shrugging his shoulders. "Sometimes my siblings need to be punished. So I put them somewhere safe so I would know that they are behaving and I can watch out for them."

Caroline and Elijah both share looks, neither buying the innocent act for a moment. "Dude," Caroline says, shaking her head. "That is honestly twisted. I'm not going to lie."

"Yes," Elijah says slowly. "My brother truly is one for the theatrics of it all."

Caroline can't begin to imagine what could hold down a gaggle of Original Vampires, but if someone found a way to do it, it's no surprise that person was Klaus. She's going about just well not knowing the hows, behind it all.

"Okay, but seriously, Klaus. If you want an outsider's perspective, first off, it's kind of twisted to keep siblings separated like that. But you also made a promise, yes?" She looks over at Elijah, who nods in affirmation. "So I think it's only right that you keep your word and let Elijah see his other siblings. I mean, it's only fair. I'm sure whatever trouble they got in to..." she hesitates, looking down at the table in front of her, wondering if she really had any ground to stand on with this. She doesn't know the siblings, she doesn't know what they did or why they were kept hidden away, to begin with, but Elijah just wants to see them. Caroline doesn't have any siblings, but she knows what it feels like to be separated from someone she loves thought no fault of her own.

Caroline looks over at Klaus again. "All I'm saying is you should let them all be together. You made a deal, so you should honor it. Besides, he's your brother, Klaus. What would we be without family?"

"Eloquently put, Caroline," Elijah says, giving Klaus a pointed look. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

"You're only saying that because she's on your side," Klaus pouts, giving a level look back to his older brother. "And besides, those words sound very familiar, yet it is your tone of voice I can hear them."

"Ah, then perhaps I have said it before," Elijah says, a touch of patronizing tone to his voice. He quirks an eyebrow a bit. "Maybe I am the voice of reason, brother."

"Maybe that's why I drone you out," Klaus grumbles, downing the rest of his bourbon.

Caroline rolls her eyes as her phone goes off as a message from Rodney. "Oh, hey, Rodney messaged back."

"About time," Klaus says, still pouting about being teamed up against. "Don't leave me in suspense all day. Who is the dead man after your aunt?"

Caroline shakes her head, not wanting to think too hard Klaus and her teaming up against the people who were hunting her aunt. People tend to not survive when Klaus is involved. Caroline knows. She's heard the stories on the street. People whispering the name of the ghost. Klaus. Luckily, she didn't hear of Klaus until after she met him for the first time or she would have had a heart attack when she saw him for the first time. Then again, he didn't tell her his name, so maybe everything would have been the same as it is now. Maybe not. Who knows?

"Okay, he says the guy's name... was Strix." She looks up at the two brothers, as their expressions level out into deadpanned blankness. Caroline arches an eyebrow. "Do you know him?"

"If it's who I think it is..." Elijah says slowly. "Then it isn't a 'him'. But a 'them'." He turns his dark eyes toward Klaus's. "But the question is; why?"

"Yes..." Klaus growls, narrowing his eyes. "What could they want from dearly beloved werewolf Cassandra Claire?"


	8. Destroy Yourself

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

"So, the Strix isn't a person, but a group of people? Specifically a group of really old vampires from the beginning of time?" Caroline asks, leaning her head back a bit against Klaus's arm to look up at the side of his face. Klaus nods, pressing his lips against her forehead again. Caroline leans into his side a little bit, looking down at her hand, resting on Klaus's thigh with Klaus's fingers running along her palm and fingers. "So what would this ancient society of vampires want from my aunt?" She looks across the table at Elijah.

The brunette shakes his head, lacing his fingers together in front of his mouth, turning dark eyes out the window. He takes a few deep breaths, trying to organize his thoughts before turning dark eyes back toward his brother and the little wolf laying against him. "I'm not certain, but it couldn't hurt to hunt down old contacts to find out."

"Why would you help me?" Caroline asks. "I get Klaus, we are about one round trip to Adventure Land away from being soul mates for life." That earns her a low rumble of a laugh from the chest against her back and even Elijah offers a little smile at that. "But you don't have to help me in any capacity."

Elijah unlaces his hands but rubs the tips of his fingers together in thoughtful consideration. "No, perhaps not. But with the Strix involved, it can't be anything good. And I'm interested in what they want with a reclusive werewolf who has no vampire connections as far as I can tell..." he trails off slowly, eyes narrowing slightly.

Caroline sits up, raising her arms above her head, stretching out as far as her body will allow, bones along her arms, shoulders, and hips cracking nicely. The vertebrae along her spine pop too before hunching over a bit. "Okay, I think I'm ready to head out." Caroline twists around a bit to look at Klaus. "And I think it's about time that you live up to your end of the bargain you made with your brother. I don't know where you locked them up in but now is probably the best time to set them free."

Elijah raises an eyebrow and turns to look at Klaus. "I am in agreement with Caroline, Niklaus."

Klaus pouts, rolling his eyes a bit, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh before nodding. "Very well, if the two of you are going to team up on me like that. I'll show you to our siblings and you can wake one up, Elijah," he says flippantly, then a mischievous grin crosses over his lips, "and something tells me you aren't going to pick our dearest brother Kol."

Caroline raises her eyebrows toward her hairline, looking between the two brothers, not sure if she wants to know. Something tells her a thousand years of knowing someone is enough to destroy the rationality that exists between lives. But that is not something she has enough experience in to be able to have any say in that.

"Whatever you've got to do to keep your deal, I guess," Caroline says, standing up and stretching again, this time for her legs. "So, where are you going? Need to pack a bag?"

Klaus smiles at her.

***

"Okay, so this is really sick, Klaus. I'm not going to lie. And how did this get in the living room? It wasn't here when we left."

Klaus laughs, spraying his hands out at the coffin in front of them marked with an intricate 'R'. Caroline wraps her arms around herself. Klaus has some crazy tendencies, Caroline has seen that first hand, but this has got to be higher up on the weird scale than she's used to. Especially when thinking about this being one of their siblings.

"So, unless I'm not as smart as a fifth-grader, I'm assuming that isn't Kol." Caroline leans against the doorframe as Elijah walks into the room toward the coffin. "This must be..."

"Yes, our dearly beloved sister, Rebekah," Elijah says, opening the coffin slowly to reveal a desiccated vampire that looks like she fell out of the early nineteenth twenties with her styled hair, pearl necklace, and swinger dress. The only thing that was out of place, aside from the fact she is obviously heavily desiccated, is the sleek silver dagger sticking out her chest.

Elijah takes a moment to stare at the sleeping face of his little sister, before reaching out, wrapping his hand around the handle of the dagger and ripping it from Rebekah's chest. Klaus pours three drinks, taking a sip of one before passing one to Caroline and the other to Elijah with a tight-lipped smile that is far more amused than it looks like the situation called for. The look on Elijah's face makes it look like he also thought it was inappropriate too, but accepts the glass from him regardless.

"Klaus, I'm seventeen," Caroline says, looking down at the bourbon.

"You've never drunk before?" Klaus asks incredulously.

"Of course, I have. You were the one I had my first sip of wine with," Caroline says, rolling her eyes. "Bourbon is a little bit harder than any of the liquor I've had."

Klaus smiles over at her. "Believe me, Caroline, my dear sister's awakening calls for a bit of hard liquor." He walks over to Caroline and puts a finger against the bottom of the glass, pushing it up slightly with a raised eyebrow.

"I... heard that, you filthy wanker..."

"Rebekah!" Klaus says, expression brightening up as he turns away from Caroline toward the girl leaning up slowly from her coffin. Elijah offers her his hand, which she takes and helps pull her out of it. She stumbles for a moment, getting her footing under her as her desiccated skin returns to a healthier color, much to Caroline's surprise.

Then she notices the blood bag in Elijah's hand that she hadn't noticed before, and the smear of blood on the corner of Rebekah's lips. She looks around at all of them, her eyebrows pulling together when her eyes land on Caroline.

"Who the bloody hell are you?"

"Be nice, Rebekah," Elijah says. "Caroline here helped me convince Niklaus to uphold his end of our deal?"

Rebekah gives Elijah a sideways glance before turning her pretty blue eyes toward Caroline, disbelief washing over her face as she looked Caroline up and down. "Her? Who is she?"

"My name is Caroline," Caroline offers.

"And what sort of power do you have that allows you to lord over my wicked brother?" Rebekah asks, finally pulling away from Elijah to send a glare at Klaus before looking back over at Caroline. "You're going to have to tell me your secret."

Caroline shrugs her shoulders, offering the bourbon to Klaus, who takes it with raised eyebrows and drinks it down himself. "No power, no secret. Just good old fashioned guilt trip."

Rebekah rolls her eyes. "That would insinuate that my dastardly brother has a heart capable of feeling guilt." She crosses her arms over her chest. "And seeing as he can stab a dagger into his lovely little sister's heart repeatedly putting her down for decades at a time because he's a heartless, soulless, wicked man," she glares daggers at her brother, who sets the glasses down on the nearby table and folds his hands neatly in front of him with a wide, open expression, waiting for her to continue, "I highly doubt such a thing is possible."

"You think so little of me, baby sister," Klaus says, sounding like he's both pretending to be hurt and actually is a little hurt. Caroline isn't sure how he can reach that conclusion but it wasn't her place to say anything.

Rebekah glares at him before looking over at Elijah. "Okay, break it to me. How long has it been?" She balls her hands up in fists at her side.

"I'm sorry, Rebekah - " Elijah starts.

"How long, Elijah? Just tell me," Rebekah demands, her lower lip trembling in fear of the answer. "I... I don't recognize the way that you're dressed... Gods, Elijah, please don't torture me any longer. Just tell me."

Elijah lets out a sigh, nodding his head slowly. "It's been almost a hundred years."

***

Caroline steps out the front door, listening to the fading sounds of Rebekah screaming at Klaus. Her anger, her rage, it's not unfounded. In her opinion, Caroline thinks that Rebekah has every right to be pissed off at Klaus for what he did. Caroline can't for a minute imagine what being asleep for almost a hundred years must feel like.

It's early evening, thankfully still light out so she goes for a walk around the neighborhood to give the siblings some time to blow off steam and get acquainted once more. Caroline figured it wasn't her place when they started hashing out the last few times Klaus daggered Rebekah because of one thing or another and especially figured as much when she heard the sound of wooden object breaking and being thrown around the house.

That made Caroline walk faster. Hopefully, she can stay away long enough for them to find some semblance of peace before she comes back. She walks down the street, admiring all the rich mansions around her, not surprised by Klaus's need to always be extra and live in elegance. Caroline has never been one for extravagance, even with all the time she has spent with Klaus.

Caroline steps up onto the curb, walking along it as a car drives past, no doubt noting that she is out of place, but doesn't stop. She holds her hands out from her sides to keep balanced as she goes.

She looks down at her feet as another car drives past. She's so preoccupied, watching her feet that she only stops when she sees feet stopped in front of her, turned to face her. She looks up to see a dark-haired teen around her age standing in front of her. With the soft wind blowing at her back, at first she wasn't sure what he was staring at her for, but when the wind stilled, with her stand right in front of him, she smelled him and immediately knew what he was.

"Oh," Caroline says, her blue eyes widening in surprise. "Hi."

"What... what are you?" he asks, dark eyes wide.

Caroline tilts her head a bit. "I'm a werewolf. Just like you, it seems." She takes a moment to admire him. "I've not seen another male werewolf." Well, aside from Klaus and Rodney. The only werewolf she met on the road was a female werewolf. The only other person that she's interacted with as frequently as possible aside from Klaus.

His eyes widen, lighting up a bit in interest. "You're a werewolf too?"

Caroline nods slowly. "So, what's a werewolf doing here?"

"I was born here," he says, furrowing his brows slightly. "What's your excuse?"

Caroline drops her arms to her side, really looking at this young man in front of her, wondering what the chances were that two separate werewolf lines would live together in the same place. From what Caroline understands about werewolves, is that they usually only gather together in packs or as a union of some sort between packs, but not much more.

Caroline tilts her head slightly. "Well, that's a coincidence, isn't it? So was I."

He blinks a few times, taking a tiny step closer to her. "You were? Really? Are we... related? Are you a Lockwood?"

Caroline sees a hazy image in the back of her mind of a dark-haired boy from school. He was a Lockwood, she remembers, from her class. What was his name again? T... T...

"Tyler..?" Caroline asks slowly. "Tyler Lockwood?" His dark eyes light up and she knew she was right, she just couldn't believe that she remembered him of all people. "Wow,  
Tyler. It has been a long time."

He shakes his head, looking at her curiously. "Do I know you? Have we met before?" He crosses his arms over his chest as if uncomfortable and intrigued at the same time.

"Caroline," Caroline says, pointing to herself. "Caroline Forbes."

He blinks once, twice, three times before his dark eyes light up in recognition. "Caroline Forbes..? Are you kidding? I haven't seen you since... since..." he turns his dark eyes up over her head trying to recall the last time that he saw her. She knew the moment he remembers, by the slight tightening of his expression. "It's... been a long time."

"Elliott Smith," Caroline says, evenly, choosing to never forget the name and face of the boy who died to make her what she is. "He has a name. The name of the boy that I killed that triggered my werewolf curse."

There is a tightness to the corners of his lips. It's a look she recognizes. That same look that people get when they think about something that bothers them terribly but they don't want others to know that it bothers them. Which Caroline can understand. They are talking about the death of a kid in their childhood. Probably all of her class's first time dealing with death, and it was one of their own. Caroline doesn't remember him specifically, but figures that Tyler was probably out there on the playground when Elliott died.

"I uh... accidentally killed a girl named Sarah..." Tyler blurts out, making Caroline jerk back a bit in surprise. "I was in a fight with someone and I pushed her back and she hit her head against the corner of a desk."

Caroline stares at him for a long time, wondering why he was telling her this. Then she wondered if maybe he wanted to talk to somebody about it. The last that Caroline remembered, there weren't any werewolves in Mystic Falls, but maybe that's because she wasn't paying close enough attention, but then again, when she triggered her curse, she was so young she couldn't hide it. Tyler seems newly turned. It probably hasn't been all that long. He's old enough that he might be able to hide it from those around him for a while, but it must be scary.

Caroline was sent away from her home when she triggered her curse. She has to wonder what it might be like for Tyler.

"Do your parents know?" Caroline asks softly.

"No," Tyler says, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest. "My dad is... uh, he'd gone. He died a few months back and my mom has no idea. There was this girl, Jules, who was helping me out for a while but... she died too. She was a werewolf too."

Caroline's eyebrows pull together. "I'm sorry to hear that. Can I ask how she died?"

He kicks at the cement with his shoe, blinking rapidly. "She was sacrificed in a ritual." He swallows, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as Caroline's blood runs cold.

"A ritual?" Caroline asks, her lips barely moving. "What... kind of ritual?"

Tyler shakes his head, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "The bad kind. A really bad guy came to town looking for Elena - you remember her? Elena Gilbert, I think you guys used to be friends."

Caroline nods, not having the air in her lungs to tell him that she actually saw said girl earlier that day.

"Well, apparently she's a doppelganger or something and he needed her life and the lives of both a vampire and a werewolf to break the curse placed on him," Tyler says, face twisting up in anger.

"He needed to kill them?" Caroline asks slowly, her hands shaking a bit. She forces them to curl up into fists at her side. But that can't be. She saw Elena alive this afternoon and Klaus didn't seem surprised to see her alive. "But... Elena isn't... she isn't dead..."

"No, thankfully the guy's brother, Elijah, came up with a loophole that let Elena live," Tyler says, shaking his head. "He came at the perfect time, that Elijah fellow. He was able to convince Klaus to not kill Elena after Elijah saved her. The same can't be said for Jules or Elena's aunt Jenna."

Caroline's hands tremble at her side and she tucks them under her arms to hide their shaking. Her mind is racing. She has no idea what she's going to do now with this information. Now the aggression from those three from earlier makes sense. Klaus is an adversary in their lives. He's been a savior, a protector, and a friend to her. But not to everyone.

Caroline knew that it wasn't going to be easy to break his curse - he told her as much - but she never for a moment thought it would be like his. And even if she had thought of it, she wouldn't have wanted to know. This was absolutely terrible. Caroline closes her eyes, trying to imagine this version of Klaus. She's trying hard to see him in the way these childhood friends of hers see him.

But she can't. She can't see him as a monster or a bad guy even though her former friends see him as such. To her... he wasn't any of those things. To her... well...

"I have to go," Caroline says, looking into Tyler's eyes. "Can we talk some more later?"

Tyler looks surprised, blinking a few times before nodding. "Uh, sure. I'll see you around?"

Caroline nods, turning around and heading back toward the Mikaelson mansion, not able to look up from the cement until she makes it back. She stops at the end of the driveway, looking up at the house and straining her hearing as much as she can but she doesn't hear anything from within. One of the cars is gone and if she focuses hard enough, she can hear the sound of Klaus's heart beating as he walks around the house.

She walks up the driveway slowly, stopping only to look down the street at the setting sun, before walking into the house and heading straight up the stairs to throw herself into the shower and wash the day away, trying to decide what to do next.

***

Caroline showers longer than necessary and crawls into bed without dinner and then she just lays there for hours, staring out the window trying to get her racing mind to calm down. Elijah and Rebekah returned home at some point and there was a significant sound of bags brushing against one another as they walk up the stairs. It sounds like someone went shopping.

Caroline doesn't blame Rebekah for a moment. All her clothes have been out of date for a long time. And if Caroline had just come back from a death-like state due to her asshole brother keeping her like that for almost a hundred years, she'd hit him right in the wallet too.

"Where is she? The girl?" Caroline hears Rebekah asks as they shuffle down the hall toward one of the other rooms. "What was her name?"

"Caroline," Elijah responds.

"And she went to bed as soon as she came back from her walk," Klaus says a moment later, sounding angry. "I think your yelling upset her."

Caroline blinks slowly, her eyes hurting from all the staring as Rebekah huffs loudly, "Oh yes, I'm sure all the yelling probably knocked some sense into that poor girl. She's probably contemplating a way to leave you right now."

Maybe Rebekah said it to hurt him, or maybe a spiteful part of her wished it to be so, but Caroline had to cover her ears to block out the noise, unable to hear it any longer. She can't listen in as they talk about her, even as she imagines the angry scowl on Klaus's face at his sister's words. Caroline's not sure how much they talked about it or how in-depth that they went, but Caroline knows that those words made Klaus angry if his silence is anything to glean from. It may be because she knows him so well, but she can just see the angry lines etched into his face just from memory alone.

But Caroline could listen to them talk. With her hands pressed tightly to her ears, it allows her a moment to think. The shower wasn't enough. Her mind was spinning with all this information.

Caroline doesn't feel love for the people she once knew. Tyler and Elena. Not in the way that she would have their lives been different. Now they are old childhood friends that she hasn't seen in a long time. She can empathize with their pain. Show compassion in any way that she can. But she's not sure what she should do.

Do this change anything? It's not like she didn't already know he was an ancient asshole who did what he wanted and killed who he wanted whenever he wanted to. Is the fact that Caroline can superimpose herself onto a version of herself that would have been in pain alongside them prove that something should change? She doesn't know. In a different life, perhaps, she would have grown up alongside Elena, Bonnie and even Tyler. Maybe she would look at Klaus the same way that her childhood friends do.

But she doesn't know. Should she allow these people to change her perceptions of someone based solely on their bad opinion of him? No, and she's not sure that they entirely can. But they are getting her thinking. There is so much about Klaus that she didn't know. Things she chose not to know or expand on because it's easier not knowing. It's easier to run away without having those connections. Without knowing everything there is to know, it's easier to go when things fall apart.

Their relationship without emotions has always been best. It's cleaner that way. More malleable. Without feelings involved when it's over, it's done. They can go about their ways.

But there is this hollowness in Caroline's chest that has always been there. That part of her that yearned for companionship that she never seemed to be able to keep. No one stayed. No one ever stayed. Caroline's parents pushed her away when Elliott died. Caroline's aunt ran when things started looking hairy without even a single word of explanation. To anyone, it seems. None of Caroline's friends remained constant. Even back in Iowa, going to school, she only had fair weather acquaintances that could leave with a drop of a dime.

Caroline has the same number she did back then, and not a single one has ever reached out to her when her aunt went missing and she eventually dropped out of school without a word.

Caroline wants that connection so bad. She wants to have someone who would always be there for her, and it terrifies her to know that Klaus is the closest person to that. He's the only tangible connection she really has. She has people that she could reach out to. People she was friendly with, but nothing as real as what she has with Klaus.  
And that scares her more than anything.

She lives on now only in Klaus's thoughts of her. Her mom didn't even recognize her, her aunt is still missing, her father is MIA at the moment, her childhood friends are all grown up now and that leaves... Klaus.

Klaus who is a vampire. Klaus who is a werewolf. Klaus who is a hybrid. Klaus who is a monster. Klaus who is a bastard and a jerk and careless and flippant and rude and hurtful and mean... to everyone but her. Klaus is this terrible, horrible person to everyone else. But not her. And the amount of power that he has over her is astounding.  
And so absolutely terrifying, she feels like she's suffocating.

And that's why their relationship works the way that it is. Without bond or connections beyond the flesh, running away is always an option. Going someone and vanishing into the nothing so efficiently that nothing could ever find her again.

That is the beautiful thing about not having any connections outside of the small rectangular device laying on her table, with just one action, she could close that line and disappear. And with no one to know her, no one will really miss her when she's gone.

Caroline's arms hurt so bad that she has to finally release her grip on her own ears, turning to face the moonlight. So many emotions swirling around inside of her that she didn't know how to address. Was what she realized today enough to change anything? Does it change anything? Is it really enough to destroy the image of Klaus that she has painted inside of her mind? Honestly, Caroline didn't know.

And despite the desperate tossing and turning she did, wrestling with her racing mind and this aching desire to crawl into Klaus's arms, she stayed in her own bed the whole night. Feeling empty, confused, and hurt.

***

Caroline watched the sunrise with bleary eyes after having gotten no sleep at all. She kept going back and forth with how she felt. And she came to realize that it wasn't just Tyler and his story that she couldn't stop thinking about. It was about everything. He wasn't that way with her, but she heard stories from people. She heard about all the terrible and horrible things that he's done, some for as simple a reason as being bored or it was done on a whim alone. Caroline knew these things and chose to pretend like they didn't matter, but if she stayed here in Mystic Falls, it would be around people where this would matter.

It would mean that if she accepted Klaus at his word, and decided to continue to live on as they have been, that she may be effectively destroying any chance at all of her rebuilding relationships with these people. And while she wasn't sure she even wanted relationships with them anymore - if such a thing was possible - she wasn't sure she wanted to burn down the bridge before she had the chance to at least think about exploring it.

But if she decided to take a chance of the maybes of everyone else - namely the people of her childhood - then that might mean forsaking all the good things that she had with Klaus. And she had so many good things.

Was she willing to destroy a good year with a good man just to get sucked up into an angry situation that she has absolutely no part to play in? She has no control over Klaus or his actions. She wasn't here, she didn't somehow influence him in one capacity or another to do something, yet somehow she feels shame in his place. Where he chooses to ignore the pain he's brought others, Caroline can't help but feel its angry stab in her heart every time that she thinks about it.

Caroline finally sits up, rubbing tiredly at her eyes before focusing on her hearing, honing in on the gentle beating of Klaus's heart, just beyond the room Rebekah now occupies. It's steady and strong and when she whispers his name, it jumps a bit. If she hadn't been listening closely, she wouldn't have noticed it. Either he's a very light sleeper, which she knows that he is but not that light, or he got just as much rest as she did. He was probably listening to her toss and turn all night like he had the night before, but this time she didn't come to him.

"Klaus," She says again, this time a bit louder, and his heart rate speeds up enough for her to know that he's up completely. "Klaus, please come to me." And he does. His heartbeat vanishes almost immediately and appears again outside her door. She had closed it last night when she went to shower, wanting to put as many physical barriers between them as she could so that she could think alone, but now, just hearing his heart outside her door makes her yearn for him to just get close to her. "Come in," she says when he doesn't immediately walk in.

He's always been gentlemanly about that. He always gave her space when she wanted it.

He comes in, closing the door softly behind him before walking over to the bed to sit down in front of her, turning so that they were staring at one another. She's not sure if it was the fact that she was tossing and turning all night and didn't go to see him or the fact that she brushed him off the night before without a word, or if she had some look on her face to show she was upset - or perhaps a combination of all three - but his look is somber when it meets her own.

"Is something wrong, love?" He asks after almost an entire minute of silence.

"Yes," Caroline admits. "And I've been racking my brain all night trying to think of a way to keep going with what I now know and I feel like it's only right that we talk about it. That I give you the chance to say something too."

"In regards to..?"

So Caroline tells him about her walk, about how she ran into Tyler Lockwood and they got to talking after realizing that both of them were werewolves. She tells him about what Tyler said and how it makes her feel hearing all of it. She tells him about her confliction on choosing sides, and if it was even fair that she did so. And the whole time Klaus just stares back at her, listening to her every word but not even attempting to hide the sadness in his eyes, as if the consequences for something have now revealed themselves to him and he's regretting his choices.

Which makes sense seeing as he was being needlessly violent, but at least he is showing that what happened did affect him.

"I did what I thought I had to in order to break that curse my mother placed on me," Klaus admits softly. "Perhaps I took it too far in regards to Auntie Jenna, but I honestly wasn't thinking about it. I just wanted to break my curse and get back to you." And once more that strong emotion swells up inside of her but she has to push it away.

"I can't live like that, Klaus," Caroline says softly. "I am not a mean person by nature. I love people. I love being around them and seeing them smile. I can't just needlessly discard people who are in pain, especially if I play a part in it. And it scares me that you can."

His lips tremble as big blue eyes stare back at her. "Caroline... I..." His voice trails off, not knowing what to say. But there is fear in his eyes. A fear that Caroline doesn't understand.

"I've been thinking about it all night and I've come to realize something that I've tried so desperately to run from yet now I fear that it is impossible to do," she says, feeling tears swell up in her eyes, watching as heartbreak and fear cross over Klaus's face, his hands gripped in tight fists on his lap. "I am scared of the power you have over me," she admits.

Surprise flickers across his face. "What do you mean?"

"I can't live my life being needlessly cruel, nor can I sit back and watch you do it. I have realized that I am..." she hesitates, hating that by saying it out loud, makes it real. That the feeling that she's been hiding for so long, that has long since threatened to overwhelm her, will do so when she puts voice to the feeling. "That I am.. starting to fall in love with you."  
Surprise and another emotion that Caroline can't name flickers across his face. Perhaps it is hope? "What?"  
"And it terrifies me," Caroline whispers, roughly wiping tears away. "If I fall in love with you, I might have to stay by your side and watch as you do those terrible things, and I know that would destroy me. Loving you the way you are to others would absolutely destroy me." She turns her gaze out the window, unable to bear the look of destruction across his face as tears blinded her momentarily. "I am not my favorite person, in the slightest, but even I don't hate myself enough to watch the man I love to destroy me." Her hands are shaking and it's hard to breathe, but she pushes on, "So I chose not to love. I chose to remain by your side as we are. Friends until we can't be anymore. Then we become strangers."  
She didn't know if she was just offering lip service or if the pit of her stomach was just her subconscious mind telling her that it might just be too late. She may chose not to believe in love, especially between them, but his actions, regardless may end up destroying her anyway.


	9. Take it from me

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline waits with bated breath as Klaus considers her words. There are tears brimming in his eyes and he looks heartbroken. Conflicting thoughts flicker across his face. It's early in the morning, and they both have been tossing and turning all night and this conversation is a lot to take in, she knows this. But she felt like she was being dishonest with him having all these feelings circling around inside of her and she wasn't saying a word about it. It wasn't fair to Klaus. Not at all. He deserved to know what she was thinking about since he was at the core of it all.

And for lack of a better word, he looks conflicted by it as well. He looks happy, scared, pensive, contemplatively, and then resolute.

He sucks in a deep breath, blinking a few times before locking beautiful blue eyes with her own, eyebrows falling flat. "I would never do anything to hurt you, Caroline. I admit that I'm not the best at controlling my temper but I assure you, I am a better man now than I was before I met you. I..." he hesitates, swallowing thickly. "I have noticed the change in me. Even Elijah has brought it to my attention, so it must be happening. He's always been a firm believer in my redemption, that brother of mine, but still, if he sees it..."

Caroline tries to ignore the way her heart flutters at his words. Tries to ignore the soft expression on his face, the openness of his eyes. How all of that makes her feel. Caroline didn't know of Klaus before she met him. She has only heard stories and even those range from admiration to vengeful. He sounds like a ghost story in all of them. She can't claim to see how he's changed. She doesn't know anything about that. But still, he feels he has to justify her own desire to stay with him and he shouldn't have to do that. But he does, because while he's a monster to others, he never was to her. Not for a moment. "Klaus, you don't have to explain yourself to me. You don't owe me anything."

Klaus stares back at her through long lashes, definitely looking like he's starting to get mad at her own words. "Is that what you think? Is that what you really think? That this last year has been nothing but some sort of game to me? That everything that we've had since the moment that we met has just been a fancy of mine?"

"I don't know, Klaus, because we don't talk about stuff like that," Caroline says, louder than she intended. She lowers her voice a bit, aware of the touch of nervousness pitching the ends of her words. She definitely didn't like talking about this, so it's clear whose fault it is that they don't. "Klaus, you know me. The idea of commitment is the absolute worst conversation topic for me. But I don't know what else to do here. I don't want to completely forsake my chances of making friends wherever I go, but I also know that I can't just say goodbye to you." Just talking about not wanting to leave him is choking her up. It may already be too late.

Klaus's lips tremble a bit as more emotion flicker across his face. "If it doesn't scare you away, I'll tell you the truth about how I feel," Klaus says softly, scooting closer to her until their knees are resting on top of each other. Caroline feels tears trickle down her face, not sure her heart's restraint can hold up if he does. The fact that she didn't immediately get up and run out of the room must have proven to him to be a good sign, even though her fear has paralyzed her in place. "I love you, Caroline. I never told you because I can't bear you running away from me. I knew from the moment I met you that I wanted you, but this last year has shown me that I need you."

Caroline rubs at the tears in her eyes until Klaus grabs hold of them to stop her from covering her face, which is her go-to when embarrassed. She hates it when he does this. "Klaus," she whines.

"I can't promise that everything will be perfect or I will always be the man you want me to be but I promise to try. I promise to try to be worthy enough for you to fall in love with. Wholely and with certainty." He stares into her eyes, still open and with sincerity.

She's not sure if it's because she's exhausted or just so desperate for the threat of them separating to pass, but the relief was the most prominent of emotions that surged through her at his words. The thought of losing him... of leaving him behind forever hurt so badly it felt like she was tearing out a piece of herself bit by bit. Slowly and painfully. It hurt more than every bump, scratch, or sprained part of her body she's endured since her time on the road. It hurt more than all of her bones breaking on every full moon she's ever turned out. Thinking about it now... it hurts harder still.

Maybe it already was too late to leave on her own. Each time growing harder and harder.

She thought for sure that this was going to end in Caroline running from Mystic Falls, crying her eyes out, vowing to never see Klaus ever again. It broke her heart to accept that reality but she is pretty pessimistic when it comes to her situation. Which is hypocritical seeing as she actually really believes in the goodness of the people around her and the fact that she generally liked people.

It's just that whenever it comes to her, she suddenly has no faith in people wanting to deal with her and she just doesn't understand it. Or perhaps she is only like this with Klaus. She knows that he is way too good for her and she's developing really strong feelings for him and that scares her more than anything else, which she also doesn't understand.

"I love you, Caroline," Klaus says softly, releasing her hands to cup her face, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "I love you. A thousand years is a long time worth of habits to try and mend, but I love you enough to try."

Caroline tries to shake her head, which is hard to do with an immortal hybrid holding it in place. "Klaus... please..." The squeezing in her heart is becoming too much for her to bear. She can hardly breathe.

"I will wait for however long I have to, I will wait for you," Klaus says, voice a low rumble in his throat. "Please don't give up on me. I'm not perfect. I... am easily angered and I know that I'm not the easiest to get along with, but I'm going to try. I just... need your patience. And maybe a reminder once and again."

Caroline feels a small laugh bubbling up in her chest, so touched that he was willing to try. And the happiness his words bring her walks hand-in-hand with fear. She is too scared to imagine a future with Klaus because if it doesn't come to be, she's going to be heartbroken even more. And hearing that he loves her is bittersweet, for if his love were to ever fade, she's not sure what she would do.

What she told Elijah was true, Klaus really was all she had left. Seeing her mother yesterday just reaffirms that feeling even more than before.

"Klaus," Caroline whisper, reaching forward to grab his face between her hands. "Klaus, please kiss me."

Klaus's eyes lock onto hers before he's launching forward, lips locking with her own. One hand still rests against her neck while the other goes to her lower back, pulling it closer while leaning forward so that she can lay down on her back with him hovering over her, kissing her again and again. Sometimes long and slow, sometimes fast and simple. However she wanted, with his body pressed up against her own.

She's not sure how long they laid there, kissing to her heart's content before she felt her own hands sliding beneath Klaus's shirt, nose filling with that beautifully delicious scent radiating off of Klaus. She couldn't smell it before, maybe her anxiety was clogging her senses from the smell, but now that she was starting to relax, it was filling her brain, sending off those fireworks once more.

And it was Caroline running her hands up and down his chest all while keeping his lips locked onto her own, then she grabbed onto his shirt and pulled it up over his head, discarding it into the far corner of the room somewhere. She leaned up, pulling her own shirt off as he slides his pants and underwear off before helping her with her own as she pulls off her bra, and then they are latched onto each other, licking and kissing and rubbing against one another like they've done so many times before, except now there was that absolutely wonderful scent filling the room, getting Caroline drunk on the feeling.

Klaus takes a slow, deep breath and she watches as the blue of his eyes vanish as both his irises turn golden and his pupils expand until it's a thin yellow ring surrounding darkness, making blackened veins pulsate up toward his eyes.

And Caroline feels it too, that deep breath he took, she mimics it, feeling her own eyes transform as the fireworks explode in her ears. The trickles of moonlight that settled around the world float lethargically into her skin allowing her eyes to change, and she can hardly feel the strain with the number of endorphins firing through her veins.

Her legs fall open as he slides his fingers into her, their eyes locked together as she gasps for air, not having felt him in over a month and a half, yet it feels like a lifetime. Her eyes find the rosary dangling from his neck, watching it sway back and forth between them as she squirms beneath him, grabbing onto the back of his neck and pulling his lips down to meet hers.

She reached down, grabbing hold of him just to hear the sweetest most mouth-watering moan escape him. And she loved him. She didn't need all those wonderful endorphins or those explosive fireworks or that sweet scent or the touch that makes her skin feel like it's prickling to know this. All of these things added to it. But that feeling of love came solely from her heart. Just being with him, being around him, talking to him, listening to him it was all enough to fill her heart with love, and joy.

He was so beautiful in ways that there weren't words. He was unbelievably powerful, and unkillable, having been around for a thousand years and seen all the beautiful women that the world could behold, yet here he is, right now, moaning and groaning, staring down at her with dark golden eyes nearly as black as his sclera with lust and he was like mush in her hands. When she pushed his shoulder, he rolled onto his back without any other prompt and grabbed hold of her hips when she crawled on top of him.

She positioned him and slide down until he was as far inside of her as possible and her body felt like she was burning alive. Something about his werewolf side awakened something in both of them. Sex with Klaus had always been good, and she had always enjoyed it to the fullest, and he always seemed satisfied at the end of it all too, but this was different. Their first time without the curse holding back Klaus's werewolf was on an entirely different level. Caroline felt like every fiber of her being was tingling. Her skin, her nails, her hair, everything. Every piece of her was being filled with Klaus and his energy.

And it felt like their souls were becoming one. Their pleasure felt like it was shared, and cranked up to a thousand. It felt so good that her legs trembled so hard that she could hardly move. Klaus had to practically throw her onto her back so that he could move, locking his lips with hers to try to keep the wanton cries at bay.

She hadn't realized she was doing it until Klaus framed her sweaty forehead and face with his hands, kissing her repeatedly and slowing his hips down, whispering, "Shush, my love, shush. You'll wake the city." Then kissing her over and over again as she tries to reign herself back into reality. She wraps her legs around him, holding him close, feeling like if he separated from her right now, she would literally die.

"Klaus," she moans, physically shaking from her desire, "please... oh God, please."

She hears Klaus growl in her ear. It's a primal, animalistic growl to go with his werewolf eyes that sets her entire body on fire in a different way. She usually cares a bit about modesty seeing as both Elijah and Rebekah were home and could probably hear them, but she couldn't force her mind to focus on anything other than Klaus and how his entire body trembles with the need to move while he fights to slow down.

He shakes and his heart raced in his chest as sweat pours from him and he tangles one hand in her hair while kissing her neck, shoulders, cheeks, lips, and ear, trying to keep his composure as his hips speed up. He wraps his free arm around her waist, maneuvering it to a better spot that makes Caroline forget how to breathe.

She arches her back, pressing her chest to his and it isn't until he is hissing in her ear that she realizes that somehow her nails transformed, elongating and becoming razor-sharp as she slices his back to ribbons only for it to heal over almost immediately. She pulls her hands back, seeing the lines of blood-forming between her fingers.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, barely able to fill her lungs with air, "I'm sorry."

Klaus shakes his head, leaning in to kiss her lips. "What's a little pain, my love?" He smiles, lightly, black veins pulsating toward his eyes. She kisses him again and again, trying to distract herself from the aching spreading across her body.

She curls her hands into fists before wrapping them around him again, whispering against his lips, "I don't want to hurt you at all, even if you'll heal from it."

"I know," Klaus says softly, breathing heavily and kissing her lips sweetly. "I know, and that's one of the many things I adore about you."

She smiles, sucking in a deep breath, her brain filling more with that beautifully delicious smell that drives her crazy. "More, Klaus."

***

Caroline opens her eyes, seeing the dim light of the setting sun trickling in from the window. She shifts slightly, resting her head in the crook of Klaus's arm with her hand settled on his chest. She feels Klaus's breath against her forehead and hair. She can hear his heart beating slow with sleep and it's all the lullaby she needs to shift closer to him, as his arm moves to settle onto her ribs, giving it a loving squeeze until they both fall still.

His skin is so smooth and warm that she couldn't help but slip back into slumber after placing a loving kiss against his chest. She breathes in deeply before letting herself slip back into slumber, ignoring the somewhat gross feeling of dry sweat and the aches that come with both the hours of sex that they had earlier in the day and the physical drain that came with maintaining the partial transformation the entire time.

Caroline opens her eyes again to see it dark out with Klaus turning toward her, running his hand up and down her side. She stretches as far as her limbs will allow her to, listening to all her joints crack. She squirms a bit, muscles aching and body weak. She rolls, slowly, onto her side as Klaus wraps himself around her, which brings her joy. She places her hand over his as it wraps around her ribs.

"How do you feel?" Klaus asks. "Are you ready to wake up? It's almost two."

Caroline shakes her head, pulling his arm around her tighter. She just wanted to sleep and relish in Klaus's warmth. He used to be slightly chilled, which was fine to sleep with, but now he was so warm. He feels so good. Her body is aching and tired still but she knows that she's going to have to get up at some point to eat and stretch out her limbs, and definitely shower.

"A little more," Caroline says softly, eyes drooping closed. "Then shower. Then food."

Klaus curls around her, pressing his face into the back of her head. "Okay, love, sleep tight."

It's about dawn the next time she opens her eyes, almost twenty-four hours later, to the sound of her own stomach growling. She's weak and tired, but now Klaus isn't going to let her keep sleeping, crawling out of bed, stretching, then pulling the covers off of her and grabbing onto her arms and pulling her out of bed, despite her groaning in protest.

He drags her into the shower, where they proceed to shower together. There is a lot of kissing and touching and just slowly washing each other while staying lip-locked almost the entire time. It was nice, it felt like she was being worshipped, and honestly, after the conversation they had, Caroline could do with some mindless kissing and just pretending like the rest of the world wasn't blowing up around them. And after their hair and bodies were washed, she rested her head against his shoulder and they just stood there under the spray, swaying back and forth slowly.

"Are you alright, Caroline?" Klaus asks, kissing her forehead.

Caroline nods, locking her hands together around his waist. "I'm okay. I'm just worried. I feel like I've backed you into a corner. I'm sorry." To be honest, she feels kind of backed into a corner too, but Caroline knows all of her problems are really psychological. She's just too neurotic at times that her brain creates issues when there isn't any.

"I'm alright. I know that we are in different worlds, love," Klaus says easily, water droplets from the shower head drop from his long, dark lashes. "I know that the gritty stuff isn't your thing. I know it. I don't want you involved in all the nasty business. Just focus on here, at this moment. Don't worry about the rest of it."

Caroline sighs softly, laying her head down on his shoulder. "I just feel bad. I hate that this is even an issue. I'm sorry."

Klaus hugs her close, kissing her hair as they rock back and forth. "Don't, love. Just stay with me. After that, we can figure the rest out. It feels right to be here by your side. This feels good."

Caroline smiles lightly, pulling back to look up into his eyes. "It does. Isn't it insane?" Caroline flushes a bit. "I mean, we usually have a good time together, but yesterday... it was different, wasn't it?" Klaus grins wolfishly, making Caroline feel a bit better as she rolls her eyes. "Come on, I'm serious. Didn't it feel different for you?"

He sobers up, staring at her as his smile softens a bit. "Yes," he says softly, "it was different. It felt more..." he raises his eyes to stare at the spray of water from the showerhead behind Caroline. "It felt more intimate than before."

Caroline nods. "It did. It felt more complete, somehow." She flushes again, shaking her head. "I don't know how to explain it, but it felt great. I'm not sure why it happened but I'm glad it did." Then a thought occurred to her. "You don't think it was because you awakened your werewolf side, do you?"

Klaus purses his lips in thought. "Perhaps. I suppose I don't know."

"I've never had sex with another werewolf before," Caroline admits softly. "Or a vampire. Aside from you. In both ways, now."

The corners of Klaus's lips quirk up at that a bit but manages to keep it under control. "I've had my fair share of vampire lovers, as for werewolves, though, those are much trickier. The last werewolf lover I had was well over a hundred years ago. And my time spent with her was nothing like this. In any of the times that we've slept together. You have always been special."

No one has ever called her that. And it makes her flush more in embarrassment. "Well, I guess it's safe to say that yesterday was great and we are definitely going to have to do it again."

"Soon," Klaus agrees, grinning wolfishly again.

Caroline laughs, shaking her head. She leans forward, kissing him sweetly on the lips before reaching back and turning the shower off. "I'm starving. Want to go eat something?"

***

Caroline found a new box of frosted cheerios in the pantry and knew that Klaus had to of gotten it for her when she was out or had someone else grab it for her. It was her favorite cereal, by far. She's chowing down on her second bowl when Rebekah, who came down a few minutes prior, finally speaks to her directly.

"I'm surprised."

"Hm?" Caroline hums around a mouthful of cheerios, blinking a few times, surprised that they were talking to her. When Elijah and Rebekah emerged from their rooms and found them in the kitchen, they started talking about where they were going from there. It sounded like Klaus was still interested in heading out of town in the next few days, and Elijah had planned on going with her but was waiting on something that would decide his next course of action.

Rebekah leans against the other side of the island, chin resting on one of her palms, staring at Caroline who was sitting on a stool on the other side. Caroline stares into Rebekah's pretty eyes. She looks very different, her shoulder-length blond hair is pin straight and she's even adapted to black leggings, boots, and a silken top. She is unbelievably pretty. Caroline feels frumpy next to her now in her own leggings and t-shirt.

"I said, I'm surprised. My brother Nik has horrible taste in women. All the girls he's fancied over the last thousand years have been ugly," Rebekah says. Klaus, who was standing behind her, leaning against a counter with his arms folded over his chest while he was talking to Elijah who was standing in the doorway with his arm propped up on the wall.

Upon hearing his sister's words, Klaus glares at the back of her head. "I do not have a terrible taste in women, Rebekah. If anyone has questionable taste in anyone, it would be you, dear sister."

"I'm not talking to you, Niklaus. You're so rude to listen in to our private conversation," Rebekah snaps, still no doubt sour about losing so much time in her life. To which Caroline still thinks that Rebekah is in the right for being mad about it.

"We are in the same room," Klaus retorts, shaking his head. "We're less than five feet away from one another. I would hardly call it a private conversation."

Rebekah rolls her eyes, then turns her attention back to Caroline. "As I was trying to say, all my brother's girls from the past were all ugly. Well, not all of them. There were a few pretty ones, I guess, but now I see that you're part of the rare minority. You're actually pretty."

Caroline's head is spinning, trying to figure out if she was being complimented or not. "Thank you?"

Rebekah's full lips curl upwards a bit, blue eyes sparkling. "You're welcome, darling."

"I am offended," Klaus points out, and Caroline couldn't help herself.

"I'm a little offended for him too," she admits, a laugh bubbling up in her chest. "I mean, we can't all be like me, and get all tens."

Rebekah laughs, shaking her head and looking over at Elijah, then to Klaus. "Alright, fine. Maybe I do like her."

Caroline laughs at the pointed look that Klaus send her way. "What?"

Klaus offers her a gentle, crooked smile that she absolutely adores. He raises his eyebrows with sparkling eyes of his own sent her way and Caroline tries desperately to stomp down that feeling of love building up in her chest at every freaking thing that he does. Once more, the control that he has over her is insane. It seems like he never has to do anything and she just falls a little bit more in love with him. Just a teeny tiny bit more.

"How do you get my siblings to just like you?" Klaus asks, narrowing his eyes slightly. "What are you doing to them?"

"I replaced them with clones, actually," Caroline says easily, spinning her spoon around her bowl with a smile on her lips, "this is all to lure you into a false sense of security."

"Don't joke about that," Elijah says mirthfully, eyes crinkling with his own crooked smile sent the blond male's way. "My brother is just paranoid enough to believe that."

Klaus rolls his eyes but doesn't deny it, which Caroline makes a mental note of, but when his eyes meet her own. She blows him a kiss and a wink. "If I was planning on a coup de tat, Klaus Mikaelson, believe me when I say that you would see it coming from a mile and a half away. And you would have to actually knowingly walk into it to fall for it. I would put evil mastermind scheming all the way at the bottom of my skillsets. Right next to cooking, jokes that don't make you want to roll your eyes, and the promise of commitment. You're a real fool if you fall for any of my half baked plans and you can only blame yourself for it at that point."

At least that one earned her a few laughs.

"Honesty is a charming quality to have in a lover," Rebekah says sweetly, then turns a pretty smile toward Caroline, "and perhaps a friend, seeing as they are in their usual short supply when it comes to our family. My brother seems to really like you and usually, that's a bad thing, but if both Nik and Elijah like you, then maybe there is something really impressive about you."

"I can't speak for anyone," Caroline says, embarrassed, "but I know that I really like Klaus. I really, really do. And Elijah seems like a really nice man, and a good brother, and I like you, Rebekah. You just woke up from a hundred years of imprisonment and yet you're adaptability is insane. You seem so in your element even though it wasn't your element two days ago. I think you're impressive."

Rebekah actually looks touched. "Thank you."

***

Caroline pulls the next book off the shelf that catches her attention, reading the back of it. Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah got back to talking about their - and by 'their', it was more like Klaus's - plan to go and prepare for his desire to make hybrids and Caroline knew that she had to skedaddle the heck out of there before the obvious was asked.

"Aren't you worried?"

Caroline jumps, nearly tossing the book she was holding into the air. She turns to look over at Elena standing a few feet away, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest.

"Holy crap, Elena, you scared me," Caroline says, eyes blown wide. "Why do you have to sneak up on me like that? What's up?"

Elena presses her lips together, at least she's able to appear apologetic. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she says.

"It's fine," Caroline says dismissively, putting the book back on the shelf. "Now what am I supposed to be worried about?"

"Klaus," Elena says softly. "Now that he's a hybrid, he's going after other werewolves to make them into hybrids like him. Is that okay with you?" She doesn't really look like she's judging, but Caroline can't really tell, and to be honest, she has no idea how she feels about having this conversation.

"I don't have anything to do with it," Caroline admits. "I'm not his mother, his sister, his daughter, his lover, or his wife. In no way do I have any control over what he does. All I can do is tell him what I think and let him make his own decisions. He's a grown-ass man, Elena. And he's an immortal vampire turned hybrid. I'm not sure what you want from me."

"I want to talk," Elena says, crossing her arms over her chest. "Aren't you worried? Being a werewolf yourself?"

"No," Caroline says, turning her attention back to the books on the shelf, seeing if there was another to catch her attention. "Klaus and I already talked about this back when he told me he was a hybrid. I'm not worried because I told him what I wanted, and he respects my wishes." Elena's dark eyes burrow into the side of her head, making Caroline feel like she has to elaborate. "I told him that if he broke his curse that maybe one day I might want to become a hybrid with him, but not now. I'm seventeen. I'm not ready to die and live forever looking like this." She gestures to herself. "And he respects my decision."

Elena's eyebrows pull together. "Are you certain? How do you know?"

Caroline sighs, placing a book back on the shelf and turning to the pretty brunette next to her. "I know that you don't like him, and you have every reason not to. I have no room to say anything about that other than to offer my most sincerest apologies about your aunt Jenna. But I trust him. I trust him and his word because while he's the monster in your story, he's not in mine."

Elena nods slowly, letting out a little sigh. "Okay, I can respect that. I'm sorry. This must be weird getting the third degree from someone that you hardly know."

"Not weird," Caroline disagrees, "uncalled for, comes to mind, but not weird."

Elena nods, looking down at the carpet for a moment, letting out a little sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just trying to process all of this, you know?"

Yes, Caroline can understand having a problem with processing one's thoughts. She just spent the entirety of the other night wracked with guilt and worry over a few words a boy she knew only barely in elementary school said to her. She feels foolish but knows that her fears could be real. Klaus is ruthless. He's an ancient vampire that has probably killed more people over his long life than Caroline has lived days. She hears the ghost stories. And those were fine when it wasn't really real, but coming to Mystic Falls and having to actually accept her own feelings might be more than what she's been pretending that they are has ruined her in an entirely different way.

"Yeah," Caroline says softly. "I understand."

"Thanks," Elena says softly, tucking long brown hair behind one of her ears. "So, what are you doing here?" She asks amicably.

"Needed to get out of the house," Caroline says easily, happy about the transition away from Klaus. She's not sure she's comfortable talking about him when he wasn't there. It felt disrespectful somehow. Especially with someone who didn't like him. "My mom called, wanted to meet up at the coffee shop across the street so I came here. Something came up and she's running behind. So I'm finding new material to read while I wait."

"Oh," Elena says softly. "Well, it's good that you're going to talk to Sheriff Forbes."

"Sure..." Caroline says awkwardly, turning away to scan more books, pulling another off the shelf the read the back. She takes a picture of the title and puts it back before moving on.

Elena awkwardly follows her into the next row. "So, are you going to be coming to our school?"

Caroline laughs, shaking her head. "No way. I already graduated."

Elena's dark eyes widen. "Really? When?"

"Right after my aunt went missing," Caroline says, flatly. "I knew that I couldn't just sit around going to school like nothing was happening after she didn't come home, so I went in, took my GED and then went looking for her."

"At sixteen?"

"Fifteen," Caroline corrects, frowning a bit at the back of one of the books before putting it on the shelf once more. "I know it might sound impressive, but my school had a low overall academic score, I was dual-enrolled, taking online classes at a local university to get a hard start on my career and had been taking elective online classes to get a bit harder stuff coming my way. Just so happens that if you have no friends and no real familial connects outside of a paranoid aunt that you can get a lot of stuff done when you put your mind to it."

"That sounds hard," Elena says softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Caroline says, casting the pretty brunette a sideways look. "It's not your fault."

Elena looks like she wants to say something, but then a conflicted look crosses her face. She picks at her nails for a moment before dropping her hands and looking back over at Caroline. "Do you want to do something tonight? I could get a few old friends together."

Caroline hesitates, not sure what she should do, before remembering the jam-packed day that Klaus was going to have and figured that she didn't want to sit alone in that huge mansion while he and his siblings went running around doing whatever it was that they were planning on doing. At least this way, Caroline might actually be able to get a bit of closure with her old childhood friends after the death of Elliott ripped them away from each other.

"Okay, sure. For a few hours," Caroline says, hoping her voice was even and not tinged with the apprehension she's feeling in her heart.

Elena's smile is pretty, lighting up her entire face. "Awesome! Here, give me your number, and I'll text you tonight." Caroline mutely passes over her phone to the brunette as she puts her number into Caroline's phone. "Let's see, I could get Matt and Bonnie to come. And I bet Stefan will come too if I ask. And maybe Tyler. Something small."

"Sure," Caroline says, noting that she doesn't remember vampire Stefan in her childhood memory, but so long as they didn't bring the other guy, Damon, then she's sure it'll be okay. Stefan seemed like the nicer of the two anyway.

"Okay, so I'll message you ton..." she hesitates, brown eyes flickering up to Caroline. "Um, tonight. Sorry, your mom texted you. She's at the shop. I should let you go."

"Thanks," Caroline says, taking her phone back from Elena and glancing down at the text to see her mom had said just that. She stuffs her phone into her pocket, looking back up at the girl in front of her. "Well, then I'll see you tonight." Then moves around her to head for the exit.

"Hey, Caroline!" Elena calls, pulling the blond's attention back over to her. "I know it's not really my business, but things have been really hectic these last few months, or maybe years, but take it from a girl who lost both of her parents in a car crash she also shouldn't have survived from," she stares into Caroline's eyes meaningfully, and Caroline feels a stab of pain in her chest, "try and hear her out. No one is perfect and the madness of Mystic Falls might be to blame for the reason your mom has been distant. Just listen to her and make your decision then, that's all I'm asking."

Caroline feels herself tremble a bit. "Okay..."

Elena forces a small smile. "I'll talk to you tonight."

"Okay." With that, Caroline's not afraid to admit that she basically ran from the library.


	10. Something to pay attention to

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline sips her frappuccino, staring at her mom as she struggles to find the words to begin this conversation. Caroline only managed to make it about half-way through her drink before Liz finally spoke, which she honestly thought she was going to finish the whole thing before either of them spoke. So, color her surprised.

"Caroline," Liz finally says, lacing her fingers together on the table and looking at Caroline, "I wanted to start all of this by firstly saying thank you for talking with me, and secondly to apologize for how poorly I treated you these last few years. I am so terribly sorry, Caroline. I have absolutely no excuse."

There us a moment of silence where the two of them just stare at one another before Caroline realizes that she should say something. "Okay," she says, then she realizes how that sounds and quickly amends, "I get it. And I promise I'm not really mad anymore."

Liz looks at her with sad blue eyes. "You used to be mad, weren't you?"

Caroline licks her lips, pushing her cup from one hand to the other slowly, trying to organize her thoughts. "Yes. No. Maybe? I don't know. I was really young and confused when it all originally happened, but kids are very adaptable. I used to cry, wondering why I couldn't go home. But then I got over it. Then I stopped crying and for a while, I was okay. But then I got old enough to realize what really happened. Then I got mad. And I was mad for a long time. Then I got over that too."

Liz's lips curl down a bit. "Did you really, though? I mean, did you talk to someone? Anyone that made you feel better about all of this?"

"No," Caroline admits. "Not until Klaus." She honestly hadn't spoken to anyone - Cassie was way too paranoid about anything like that - so Caroline just dealt with it on her own. She wasn't prone to anger, so she never really lashed out or anything of the sort. She just sort of brooded a lot and got a bit snippy, but that was it. She wasn't an angry person, which Cassie expressed was odd.

Liz blinks a few times. "Klaus... tell me about him."

"Why?" Caroline asks, defensively.

"Why do I want to know about the strange man looking after my daughter? Hm, good question." Liz gives her a look. "Why? Is he a sensitive subject?"

Caroline sighs, running a hand through her hair before leaning back in her chair, her body still aches both from sex with Klaus and from overusing her ability to summon magic from the moon and maintain a partial transformation. "A little bit. I'm not sure if you can tell, but he's not exactly well-liked. Which I'm sure is almost entirely his fault, but he's good to me, and he's my friend. And I'm getting kind of tired of people talking trash about him. So yes, he is a sensitive subject."

Liz holds up her hands in surrender. "Okay, I'm sorry. We're done talking about him."

"Anything on Aunt Cassie?" Caroline asks, much more interested in finding her aunt than anything else really.

"I got an APB out on your aunt. Unfortunately, seeing as she's already been missing for two years, it's going to really handicap the detective in charge of this case."   
She lets out a long-winded sigh, rubbing at her forehead. "But I'll let you know if I hear anything."

"Thank you," Caroline says softly. She takes a nice, long sip of her drink before pushing it away and leaning on her fist. "So, have you talked to dad? Did you tell him about me being here?"

Liz closes her eyes for a moment, collecting her thoughts before looking at Caroline. "Honey, there is something we should talk about."

***

Caroline sits on her couch, staring at the wall. She lets out a little sigh, mind racing. Her phone vibrates in her hand, letting her know that it was about to die. She goes upstairs, to her room and plugs it in before coming back down the stairs and plopping down onto the couch once more, limbs feeling like jelly. She's been sitting there for about twenty minutes, with no interruptions until then. She's home alone.

Klaus had texted her earlier, saying that he and Elijah were off checking in on something, but didn't elaborate on anything more and that he would be back in a few hours. He didn't say where they were going or what he was doing, and frankly, Caroline didn't think to ask. She just sat there, staring at the wall until the front door, mind racing out of control.

"What's wrong with you?"

Caroline blinks a few times, turning her head a bit to see Rebekah standing just past the threshold of the room, her eyebrow quirked.

"Nothing," Caroline says softly. "Just thinking."

"Did you meet with your mother?" Caroline nods. "How did that go?" She walks into the room and stops next to Caroline on the couch, looking down at her with pretty blue eyes.

"I just got off the phone with my dad," Caroline says, looking back forward. "She told me that they separated. That they've been separated for some time now and just didn't know how or when to tell me. She told me that I needed to call and talk to him. So I did."

Rebekah raises both her eyebrows now, sitting down next to her. "Okay... and what did he have to say about it? Did he give you a good reason for just up and leaving your mother?"

"He's gay."

Rebekah blinks a few times, turning to look at the same wall Caroline was before leaning back into the couch next to her. "Okay, well, that's as good a reason as any, I suppose." Caroline hums, picking at a loose thread on her jeans. "Are you mad? At your dad, I mean?"

Caroline shakes her head. "I'm a young werewolf and I just spent yesterday morning screwing an ancient vampire-turned-werewolf-hybrid who's at least a thousand years too old for me with a lot of family drama, past trauma, near-crippling depression, with sporadic bouts of anger coupled with a severe case of separation anxiety and a god complex, I think I'm the last person to be judging who anyone is sleeping with. I'm just upset that they didn't tell me a long time ago."

Rebekah leans back so that their shoulders are pressed against one another. They sit in silence for a long time before Rebekah finally says, softly, "Sometimes, it's harder to tell the truth, especially to our children. They look to us as examples of what should be. No one should ever be ashamed for who they love, but your parents must have loved each other in some capacity, and even though your father's gay, it doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt to tear apart the family you built, even if it was good for you. That has to hurt on some level."

"It's not tearing us apart," Caroline disagrees. "Our family falling to shambles has nothing to do with that. He's free to be happy. They both are. It doesn't tear a family apart to learn that parents fell out of love for one another, it just... evolves it into something more. Or it could if everyone was willing to try to make it work for the sake of family."

Rebekah nods slowly, turning to look over at Caroline. "I agree. On a lot of levels. It takes more than one person to make a family work. Everyone has to work hard to make a family function as harmoniously as possible." She blinks a few times before offering a small smile. "And you seem to have my brother pegged well, Caroline. I'm impressed."

Caroline laughs, shaking her head, grinning at the blond next to her. "Don't be, it's taken a year to get this far."

"A year is a long time for a mortal," Rebekah says softly. "And honestly, my brother doesn't let many people stay close to him for long. I'm not sure what is so special about you, but my brother seems to sense it, and he's usually right about stuff like that. But don't tell him I said that, or you're dead to me."  
Caroline laughs again and a moment later, Rebekah joins her.

"So where were you today?" Caroline asks. "Enjoying your newfound freedom?"

Rebekah laughs, shaking her head. "I wish, but there is no freedom from that dreadful brother of mine. It's all based solely on his own will. He only lets me go as far as his will demands it. It's all that he wants. Complete and utter control over all of his siblings with absolution. He doesn't give a damn about anyone else. He's selfish and cruel."

"I'm sorry," Caroline says softly. "I wish I knew the magical words that would make everything okay, but I don't. All I can do is offer to be in your corner. It's not much, but if it means anything at all, I think Klaus was wrong for what he did to you."

Rebekah studies her expression, reading it closely, no doubt looking for some reason to disbelieve her. Caroline's not sure what her face looks like, but she just keeps her eyes locked onto Rebehah's eyes just waiting. It's been a hundred years since last she walked the earth, no doubt she needs time to analyze her surroundings. To get a feel for the people around her. To adjust to everything that's changed.

Caroline doesn't blame her for a moment. Still, Caroline feels bad. What Klaus did to her was wrong on so many levels, it's unbelievable.

Rebekah seems to have decided that Caroline wasn't being obtuse with her words for her smile is soft and vulnerable. "Thank you, Caroline."

***

Caroline is suddenly so thankful for Rebekah. Seeing the abysmal amount of clothes that Caroline has, Rebekah was willing to share her closet full of beautiful new clothes with her. Thankfully they were the same size even though Caroline was slightly taller than her. But it was only a little bit more than an inch. And with their newfound friendship, Rebekah was willing to share with her. Especially after Caroline told her about meeting up with her childhood friends tonight and when asked what she was going to wear, she gestured to herself.

Apparently, that was unacceptable to Rebekah.

And while putting on dresses with Klaus was equal parts creepy and kinda fun, this was entirely fun. They both put on a little fashion show for one another. And they spent hours dressing up. Caroline wanted desperately to make a good impression, feeling like a fool for wanting to impress people that she didn't know, and Rebekah was helping her do that, which meant so much to her.

She helped Caroline do her hair, pick out an outfit and put on some actual make-up. If Caroline had to imagine what this feeling was, it would be akin to having a big sister. Even if biologically they were very close to the same age, but Caroline knew that Rebekah was far older than even that. But it was nice to have this time. No stress, no expectation, and honestly, Caroline and Rebekah were a lot alike.

"Won't you come with me tonight?" Caroline asks. "I don't really remember these old friends, so maybe having someone I know there would help me feel a bit better. Besides, I kind of don't want the fun to end."

"You want me to come to hang out with a group of people who absolutely hate my bastard of a brother for all the terrible things he's done to them?" Rebekah asks, quirking an eyebrow.

Caroline gives her a sheepish look. "We don't have to tell them?"

Rebekah grins back at her. "That's so deceitful, Caroline."

Caroline shrugs her shoulders a bit. "I don't mean to be. I just... I don't want to go alone and... well," Caroline looks around at anything but the girl in front of her. "It's a big house, and I hate the idea of leaving you here alone."

Rebekah's lips part slowly, as she stares at Caroline, who's so flushed with embarrassment that she can't even look at her new friend. She was Klaus's sister and while on principal she wanted to at least be on good terms with Rebekah, but after having spoken to her, she actually really like her and is hoping that they can be friends.

Rebekah blinks a few times, swallowing before she nods a little bit. "Sure. I just got my nails done and I am already in a cute outfit... I suppose I could accompany you," she says, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "I mean, if something were to happen to you and I wasn't there to protect you, Nik would just about lose his mind."

Caroline didn't feel like Rebekah had to justify a reason for coming out with her, but if she wanted to, she was going to just agree. It just made Caroline happy to know that Rebekah was willing to come out with her.

"You're right, you know," Caroline says, wiggling her eyebrows. "Klaus adores me, and you're my new bodyguard, so you're stuck coming with me and having a great time tonight with people from my past trying to be my friends, or whatever."

Rebekah laughs, flashing pearly white teeth. "And if tonight sucks?"

"You and I get the heck out of there," Caroline says, grinning. "If it's lame, we peace out. We can take over the town together."

Rebekah grins back at her. "Well, then, let us go."

***

Caroline passes her phone over to Rebekah as she punches in the address that Elena texted her. Apparently, she got it from Caroline's number from Liz, which works out just fine for her. She starts following the GPS.

"Can you call Klaus for me? I forgot to tell him we were leaving," Caroline asks, using her thumb to unlock her phone while keeping her eyes on the road. Rebekah might be able to survive a car accident, but Caroline might not. Thankfully, Klaus left keys for a car and Caroline at least had her learners permit from before Cassie was chased off. Thankfully Caroline remembers all that she learned, she just needs to go in at some point and actually take the test. At least Rebekah will be able to compel someone if she gets pulled over.

"You have to check in with him?" Rebekah asks, giving her a look.

"I don't have to," Caroline defends herself. "It's about respect. When we are in the city together, and we separate to do our own thing, we keep each other up to date on what's going on. I know where Klaus is, it's only respectful if he does too."

Rebekah stares at her for a few moments before nodding, fiddling with her phone until she manages to figure out how to get to contacts and call Klaus. It rings twice before he picks up.

"Hello, love," Klaus greets warmly.

"Hey, so I wanted to let you know that Rebekah and I are going out tonight. We're meeting with Elena and her friends as a friendly get together or something like that. And because I'm the loser who doesn't really know anyone, I'm dragging your saintly sister along with me so if I need to escape, I can," Caroline says, half-joking, half-truthful.

"Ah," Klaus says smoothly, "fraternizing with the enemy, I see."

Caroline rolls her eyes. "Nice. But you have enemies, Klaus, not me. I don't make enough waves to make enemies of anyone."

"True," Klaus admits, then switches topics, "so where are you going? Where is this meet-up occurring?"

"Stefan's house, I guess," Caroline says. "That's what Elena's text said. It's just easier to meet up there. She promised that Damon would be out, apparently hanging out with my mom? I don't know and I didn't want to ask."

"Stefan?" Rebekah echoes, surprised. "Stefan Salvatore?"

"Ah, yes, did I forget to mention?" Klaus asks innocently. "Stefan Salvatore is here, in Mystic Falls, with his new girlfriend Elena Gilbert, Katherine's doppelganger."   
Caroline spares a glance over at the Mikaelson sister to see shock, confusion and hurt flickering across her face as she tries to make sense of what's being told to her. "Oh, and if it seems like Stefan doesn't remember you, it would be because I compelled him to forget you. Well, both of us. Sorry about that." And even though his voice sounds flippant, Caroline can't help but imagine that it's kind of condescending.

And once again Caroline is reminded that Klaus isn't like he is with her all the time. He can be cruel, even to those he loves. Like his sister.

"Okay, bye Klaus," Caroline says, snatching the phone from Rebekah's hand and ending the call. They sit in silence as Caroline continues to drive toward the address. She spares another glance over at Rebekah, to see that she is staring through the windshield with those wild emotions flickering across her face as she tries to figure out what she's feeling about what was said.

And Caroline feels terrible for her once more. Klaus really could be cruel.

"Bastard," Rebekah says spitefully, shaking her head. "God he is such a bastard."

"I'm sorry," Caroline says softly. "He shouldn't have done that. We don't have to go hang out with the wayward childhood friends of mine tonight. I can just call Elena and tell her that something came up." She just can't bring her self to force Rebekah to keep her agreement. Caroline would never make her do that, especially with how messy the last few days... er decades... have been for her.

Rebekah blinks a few times, organizing her thoughts before shaking her head. "No," Rebekah says, turning to meet Caroline's gaze. "I want to see him. Even if he doesn't remember me, I want to see if he's happy."

"That's very big of you," Caroline says softly. "But you don't have to force yourself, Rebekah. There is always next time."

Rebekah shakes her head. "That's sweet of you, darling, but no. I'm okay. Besides, as I said, I want to make sure that he's happy."

Caroline nods. "Okay. Good. Just... let me know if you want to leave at any point. We will, no questions asked. Promise. Just let me know." She spares another look over at the vampire next to her. "Okay?"

"Okay," Rebekah says softly. "Thank you, Caroline."

***

"Well, this place is massive," Caroline says, walking up the front steps to the Salvatore mansion. "Klaus has shown me some pretty fancy places, but this one has got to be one of the biggest I've seen yet. It's impressive."

"Oh, sweetheart, I have got some places to show you," Rebekah says, grinning at Caroline with just the slightest touch of apprehension. But she tries hard not to show that she's visibly bothered. Caroline touches her shoulder a bit, giving her a little nod, which she returns, and then they both suck in a deep breath and Caroline reaches out, pushing the doorbell and wait.

A few moments later the door opens and Elena is standing there. "Hey," she says, smiling when her eyes meet Caroline's, then they flicker over to Rebekah, blinking in surprise before raising an eyebrow. "Oh, uh, hi."

"Hey," Caroline says awkwardly, waving her hand a bit in greeting. "So, since we're trying to integrate groups together and I'm seriously outnumbered, I brought someone of my own. I hope you don't mind, it was kind of last minute."

Elena shakes her head, looking at Rebekah curiously. "No, not at all." She steps back, holding the door open. Caroline can hear others talking inside and there are a couple of cars out front too, so they must be the last ones to arrive.

Caroline steps into the house and makes it a few feet in before realizing that she was the only one walking, she stops, turning around to see Rebekah still standing there, her arms crossed over her chest. She purses beautiful full lips. "I'm a vampire, Elena," she says, her voice flat, standing right at the entranceway to the house, giving it a once over, "you have to invite me in. Or whoever owns this house has to."

Elena blinks a few times as if she realized that she hadn't even offered it a bit of thought. She slowly tucks long dark hair behind her ear, she looks over her shoulder into the house, chewing on her bottom lip. "I'm sorry. Um..."

"Rebekah," Rebekah says easily.

"Rebekah..." Elena says slowly, still looking concerned.

Caroline hesitates for a moment, not realizing that this would even be a problem. "Um... maybe we should just go..." She starts walking back toward Rebekah. "This is way too awkward, I'm sorry. Maybe we can meet up at a different time." She's embarrassed, she thought that there wouldn't be an owner to the house of a vampire. She thought that this was going to be okay. That the weirdest part of all of this was the small talk, but apparently they can't even make it that far.

"No, it's okay," Elena says, stopping her. "I'm not comfortable inviting a stranger into the house, but we can move it outside. Is that okay?"

"I don't want to inconvenience everyone," Caroline says. "Thanks for inviting us, Elena."

"It's not an inconvenience," Elena says. "We'll just move to the backyard. It's fine. I'm sorry I'm making this difficult." She gives them quick instructions on where to go before disappearing into the house to no doubt tell her friends about the change in plans.

"I don't think I like her," Rebekah says, rolling her eyes as they two of the walk around the house after Caroline shuts the door. Thankfully Caroline's worn tennis shoes are comfy enough for the manicured lawn but Rebekah has a touch of difficulties with the heels of her own shoes, but she'll heal a lot faster if she twists an ankle than if Caroline did.

"Who? Elena?"

"Yes," Rebekah says, taking Caroline's offered hand to steady her as they go around the large mansion to the back. "Something about her, I don't like it."

"You hardly know her," Caroline says, feeling like she has to defend her childhood friend. Caroline tries not to be judgemental and honestly, Elena didn't seem all that bad. She just seems like a friendly stranger who's trying to get to know her better. There isn't anything wrong with that. Not in Caroline's opinion at least. "Come on, maybe you'll change your mind."

"I doubt that," Rebekah grumbles, but lets Caroline continue to drag her to the back of the mansion where everyone was already piling outside, setting up chairs around a fire pit. They all stop when Caroline and Rebekah round the corner and into view.

Elena smiles upon seeing them, waving them over. "Okay, let me introduce everyone." Caroline and Rebekah step up onto a concrete patio, finally releasing each other while Elena gestures to everyone as she names them off. "So, Stefan Salvatore, you guys met the other day, Matt Donovan, Tyler Lockwood, and Bonnie Bennett."

Caroline smiles, offering a little wave to them all. "Nice to meet you, and remeet some of you. I'm Caroline, obviously. And this is Rebekah." She gestures to the Original Vampire next to her.

As soon as Caroline's eyes land on Bonnie, she remembers her. She's able to place the face of the little girl onto the teenager now. And when Bonnie flashes that crooked smile that Caroline recognizes, a strange feeling bubbles up in her gut. And Matt, Caroline wasn't really friends with Matt, although they were in the same class every year, his eyes were the thing that was so familiar to her, and it seemed like they only got bluer than what she remembered. But still as pretty. And it was interesting to see Tyler again, after the realization that he caused the other day.

They all sit down and try to get to know each other. Rebekah seems content to just sit around and quietly listen as they talk about their lives. Caroline found a bit of joy listening to them grow up, able to kind of imagine herself there with them, these people who were once her friends - even if minorly in some cases - and wonder if their lives would be remotely similar had she been there with them. It's kind of interesting to wonder how her life would be different had she never triggered her curse and grew up with the rest of them.

She can only imagine what kind of person she would be.

And after over an hour of just talking about themselves, they revealed what they were. On Team Mystic Falls; Elena, a doppelganger. Stefan, a vampire. Bonnie, a witch. Tyler, a werewolf. And Matt, a human, on their side. And on Team Outsiders; Rebekah, a vampire. And again, Caroline, a werewolf.

"It's strange," Stefan says, resting his arm around Elena's shoulders, "I hadn't seen any werewolves until Mason Lockwood, then Jules and her gang, Tyler and now Caroline. I'm seeing more werewolves in the last few weeks than I've seen in my entire vampire life."

"Werewolves are elusive ones," Rebekah says, crossing her arms over her chest. "There was a great genocide many years ago when the vampire race as a collective learned that werewolf bites would kill them. After that, it's just fear and paranoia that spurred both sides into conflict. Werewolves in both self-defense and vengeance for their fallen and vampires for the exact same reason."

"So why are there hardly any werewolves now?" Matt asks. He looks newly brought into all of this. He still seems like he's trying to wrap his mind around everything that he's learning.

"A vampire can turns as many people as they feed their blood too and kill. A werewolf is born and raised. There is no comparing the numbers. Say a werewolf female can have on average about four children in their lifetime? A vampire can, in that same lifetime of a hundred years, make dozens of vampires if they want to. As I said, there is no way to compete." Rebekah shrugs her shoulders, reaching over to grab onto her glass of bourbon that Stefan was nice enough to share with her.

Rebekah kept watching him with big, sad eyes no doubt mourning whatever it was that they used to have. Once more Caroline is impressed by Rebekah's resilience, yet she can't help but imagine that instead of having fun tonight this is ending up crueler to her than anything else. Perhaps Rebekah has a right not to like Elena, simply because in a hundred years of forced absence, Stefan moved on, even though he was compelled to forget what they had by Klaus himself.

Still, Caroline feels bad for Rebekah.

"What about you, Caroline?" Bonnie asks, taking a bite out of the piece of pizza that they ordered. She chews, then swallows before continuing, "Tell us about you."

Caroline picks at the sausage on her own slice, nibbling it. "What would you like to know? My life hasn't been all that interesting."

"Tell us anything," Bonnie says, offering a light smile. "How about your favorite color? Do you still not have a favorite?"

Caroline laughs, even now, years later, Bonnie was always great. She always knew just what to say. She knew just how to act, and it seemed like no matter what, she was always right. At least it's nice to know that some things haven't changed. And her memory will never cease to amaze Caroline. It's such a trivial thing that she learned back when she was nine from a friend she hasn't seen in almost nine years.

"Yeah," Caroline says. "No favorite color for me, but I am partial to lighter colors. I prefer them over darker ones." She shrugs her shoulders, so much happier to be talking about something like this than sad abandonment story twice in the making. "So I've been living on my own the last two years looking for my aunt. If you happen to come across a female werewolf, late thirties with blond hair, blue eyes and paranoid as all hell by the name of Cassandra Claire, could you let me know?"

Thankfully Team Mystic Falls is full of bobbing heads. Not that Caroline is sure that's going to help her out a lot, but at least, once more it makes her feel better to know that at least more people were keeping their ears to the ground when it comes to her aunt. The more people aware and looking for her - or keeping their ears open for her.

"How have you been surviving all this time out there on your own?" Elena asks.

Caroline shrugs her shoulders. "I move around a lot. Keep my head down and don't ask a lot of questions. I never stayed in one place for long and I made some friends along the way that was willing to help me out when I really needed it."

"Is that why you're hooking up with literal Satan?"

Caroline blinks a few times while Stefan leans forward, away from Elena to glare over at the door leading back into the house to see none other than the undesirable one that Caroline was promised wouldn't be there. Seeing as no one seems to be surprised by Damon's words, Caroline can only guess that they all know about Caroline's connection to Klaus and they've been avoiding talking about it the whole night. It's impressive, though, that they could fake it for this long.

That's probably why this night started out with a tame stink eye from Tyler that has slowly softened to a regular look. No doubt he's got no idea what to think about her, and honestly, she's the same with the rest of them. They all seem close. They are all on good terms with one another - although it's obvious that Bonnie is uncomfortable with at least Stefan - but Caroline is starting to wonder if tonight wasn't really for her at all. Maybe they were all here for Elena.

And then Caroline feels it again. That angry, black feeling. That insecurity she has no right to feel. These aren't her friends. This isn't her life. It could have been, maybe had things been different, but it isn't. Maybe tonight was about making Elena happy. Maybe she was really the only one who wanted this. It hurt her. It shouldn't have because she's a fool to have expected anything else, but it does still hurt. And the snarky, condescending look on Damon's face isn't helping her feel any better.

"Damon," Stefan says, frowning. "What are you doing here?"

"In my own house? I wonder," Damon retorts sarcastically before looking back over at Caroline. "Well? Is that it?"

"Damon, right?" Caroline says slowly, leaning forward in her seat a bit. "Listen, I have nothing to do with your problems with Klaus. I know he did some bad things, especially to you guys, but that has nothing to do with me. I wasn't even in Mystic Falls during all of this."

"No, maybe you weren't," Damon says, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. "But you know something."

"Damon, leave her alone, that's not what tonight is about," Elena says, eyebrows pulling together tightly.

"Lay off, Damon. She's got nothing to do with Klaus," Stefan says, and at the pointed look the dark-haired man shoots him, he quickly amends with, "you know what I mean."

"Damon, was it?" Rebekah asks shortly, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "I don't quite like the tone you're taking with dear sweet Caroline. I would hate to have to rip your head off, here in front of the only people in the world who can at least stand you." She uncrosses her legs and stands up slowly, looking equal parts elegant and lethal.

"Rebekah," Caroline says softly, standing up with her. She puts her hand onto the other blond's arm. "Don't. It's okay."

"So, what about you is so important?" Damon asks, ignoring Rebekah, with his ice-blue eyes still on Caroline. "What's so special about a little werewolf girl from Mystic Falls?" He walks across the patio toward Caroline, who meets him halfway, thankful that Rebekah was so close, just in case this got messy. Everyone else climbs to their feet, wanting to intervene just in case that same thing. And honestly, Caroline doesn't really like Damon. "What does Klaus see in a girl like you?"

Caroline is sick of it. She's sick of these people talking about Klaus like they knew him. She knows he did bad. She knows that they have every right in the world to be angry at him, but she hates that they are so narrow-minded. Or, at least Damon is. The rest of them are at least trying to be above it, which Caroline can appreciate. But Damon is really starting to make her mad. She's hurt, still aching like hell from the other morning, and she's got no patience for someone like Damon right now.

"Do you want to know what it is?" Caroline asks slowly, staring up into Damon's eyes. "Do you want to know what it is? I'll tell you." She steps up close to him, which by the look on his face isn't something a lot of people do lightly. "Perhaps it's as simple as Klaus sees in me, a simple werewolf girl from Mystic Falls, what he doesn't see in his vampire enemies." She leans in as close as she dares and whispers. "Something to pay attention to."

With that, she steps back, turns around and walks away. She didn't have to look back to know that Rebekah was, not only following her, but had a big grin acrossing her lips while she does. Something tells Caroline, Rebekah probably isn't the biggest fan of Damon either.


	11. Depart

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

It's never been this bad. Caroline remembers leaving with Rebekah and just driving around town, going to local shops and walking around before finally heading back to the house. Caroline had a lot of fun walking around with Rebekah. It's been a long time since she was able to just spend some time with another girl who was so much like her. They were interested in the same things, had a lot of the same tastes in clothes, and books when Caroline dragged her back into the library as they walked by, and Caroline liked being able to help Rebekah.

Rebekah was adjusting so well that it was hard for Caroline to keep remembering that Rebekah had only been in the twenty-first century for a few days and she was still learning. So Caroline enjoyed teaching her about things, really showing her the cool stuff her brand new phone could do and even sharing their numbers in case they needed to reach one another while they were sitting at a cafe drinking Starbucks. Which Rebekah liked. She's not used to iced drinks quite like that.

Caroline liked being able to spend time with someone who was so much like her - plus she felt bad for dragging Rebekah to what ended up being an epic shit show at the Salvatore house. So it's nice to just forget about it. At least for a bit. No doubt she's going to have to talk to Klaus about it, which she isn't looking forward too, but still, it is what it is.

She barely made it through the front door before the bones in her legs snapped causing her to collapse. Then they shift back into place, but by then she was already on the floor, having cried out in pain. Caroline remembers Rebekah grabbing onto her, talking to her as bones all up and down her body crack in and out of place one by one. Slowly. One at a time. As one break, then reset, the next one breaks, then resets. So on and so forth up and down her body. And it's not like the intensity of the change when everything starts speeding up and multiple breaks at once.

Rebekah dropped her into her bed. "Sweet lord, Caroline, please tell me what to do. Are you changing? What do I do?"

"No, not changing," Caroline sobs, curling up on her side. "I'm okay. It'll pass. Give me time. It'll pass."

"Your bones are systematically breaking across the entirety of your body, Caroline," Rebekah says, brushing Caroline's hair out of her face. "It's not the full moon. If it's not your change, then what it is?"

"It happens," Caroline growls, curling up on her side. "In preparation for the moon... or like cramps leading up to a period, I don't know." She whimpers in pain as the fingers in her hands start to break. Break, whimper in pain, break back into place. Next one breaks, another whimper of pain, breaks back into place.

"Tell me what to do," Rebekah asks, running her hand over Caroline's forehead, which is scrunched up in pain as she tries to control the whimpers and whines that escape her at every broken bone.

Nothing. There was nothing that could be done. Caroline spoke to a few witches and none of them seemed to know what the reason was behind her having these random fits. It doesn't happen every month, and to be honest, it's never been this bad, and all she could do was just suffer through it. She would just find a back alley or curl up in the shower in a motel she was staying at when it was too cold outside and just suffer through it. She grits her teeth and holds it in until the pain passes.

There is one thing that helps. It doesn't really alleviate the pain or make her feel better, really, But there was something that helped distract her in those moments of pain. It's stupid, really stupid. But she thought about someone and it made her feel better. She thought about the only person who really helped make her feel better whenever she felt lonely.

"Klaus," Caroline rasps, curling up more on her side. "I want Klaus." If he made her feel better just by letting her think about him. Maybe she would feel even better just by him being here, listening to his voice.

"Klaus," Rebekah echoes, grabbing out her phone, fiddling around with it, trying to remember how to get to her contacts, nodding her head quickly. "I can do that. I can get him here."

Caroline nods, laying on her side and closing her watery eyes, just focusing on his face in her mind as her bones continue to break. She's not sure how long it took her, as she's too focused on trying not to think about the pain that she's in but at some point, Rebekah managed to get her phone to cooperate with her and call Klaus.

Through the cracking of her bones and her soft whimpering, Caroline could hear Rebekah, "Niklaus, come home. You have to come home now. It's Caroline. I don't... I don't know what's happening. Her bones, they keep breaking and I don't know why. Come home now!"

Caroline's not sure how long she laid there in pain, trying her hardest to keep quiet and simply focus on anything else. It helps her to think about Klaus. It helps to think about those times they would walk around whatever city they were in, talking about whatever it was that they were talking about, enjoying each other's company. It was remembering the mundane moments that made her feel better.

And she was right to tell Rebekah to call Klaus back. While they waited, Rebekah sat down next to her, running her hand through Caroline's hair as she writhes in pain, quietly shushing her, humming softly in an attempt to soothe her. And it worked. Caroline was so used to going through it alone, that having someone there, even if there wasn't anything that Rebekah could do to ease the pain in her body, she hadn't realized how bad she felt until she realized she wasn't alone.

Having Rebekah there meant the world to Caroline. And she's not sure she'll be able to ever show how much this meant to her that the Original Vampire was here with her.

And as much as she appreciated having Rebekah there for her, she actually started to cry when she pulled away and Klaus wrapped himself around her, pressing his entire body against her own, his scent wrapping around her. He wrapped his arms around her body, trapping her arms against her chest, which at first almost felt like it was going to suffocate her, but then she realized how hard it was for her bones to break outward when there was already significant pressure placed on them. It didn't stop her legs and hips from breaking, but it did help a bit.

As painful as it was with the big bones in her body, like the femur, breaking, but the ones that hurt the most was the jaw and the ribs, cracking and bending and bowing in her stomach. She pressed back into him as far as she could, naively hoping that the closer she was to him the more strength she could take from him.

"Do you want to hear the story of a beautiful werewolf? About how she managed to bewitch the bastard king? How he may never be a great man or even a good man, but somehow the beautiful werewolf makes him better?" Klaus whispers, kissing the skin beneath Caroline's ear. Caroline's knee pops back into place, making her cry out softly in pain before turning to look over her shoulder at Klaus through blurry eyes.

"Only if you remember... to tell my favorite part," Caroline rasps, blinking a few tears. "Don't forget that the only reason any of that could be, was because... first that bastard king had to save her."

Klaus purrs softly, kissing her cheek as she lays her head back down, too tired and in too much pain to keep twisted around. "I wouldn't dare forget it, little wolf."

Beneath the pain and the exhaustion, Caroline is happy. Happy to be in Klaus's arms as he spins a beautiful tale of their lives together, making it sound like a fairytale. He, thankfully, omitted the blood and the killing and the sex for something more mystical. Beautiful in its simplicity. Like a real fairytale, stripped of complicated realism that comes with real life. And so she listens to his tale as her bones go from cracking and breaking to creaking and splintering beneath her skin.

It's much more bearable, feeling her bones creak and crack but not break completely. It hurt, but it was much more uncomfortable than painful and she could deal with that without complaint. And feeling Klaus's heat wrapped around her, and his scent in her nose and his voice in her ear was enough to ease her into sleep after hours in pain and discomfort.

And it was all okay because Klaus was there by her side. She can deal with pain, and it seems like it becomes more bearable with Klaus there. Caroline could barely open her eyes after hours of laying there in pain, but when she does, she catches the faint light on the clock next to her bed, reading that it was almost three in the morning. She's not sure when Klaus got there, but he stayed the whole time and Caroline knew that she wouldn't ever be able to go through another of these without him again.

This was the worst one yet. It's never been this bad before, but now that she's thinking about it, maybe it has been gradually getting worse over the years and she's just repressed it enough to not notice before. Maybe they will continue to get worse. She's not sure. But that she isn't willing to offer any more thought to. At least, not tonight.

Even though she was still in a bit of pain with her bones, it wasn't enough to keep her awake anymore.

***

When Caroline opens her eyes in the morning, she can feel Klaus's breath against her forehead and hairline. She feels so comfortable and warm in his embrace, rolling onto her side and wrapping her arm around his waist and turning completely to be flush with his body. Her muscles ached from stretching every time her bones broke, and well, the radiating pain could only come from one place.

Caroline snuggles close to the hybrid, taking a deep breath of his delicious scent before saying, softly with a raspy voice, "It has never been that bad. Thank you for coming back."

"So that is unusual..?" Klaus asks, pressing his lips against her hairline.

"The breaking? No, as I said... it does happen every once and a while, but that was the longest it's ever been."

"Any idea what causes it?"

Caroline licks her lips a bit, knowing she's going to need to get up soon. She's tired, but she can't keep sleeping all day, her schedule's already all messed up as it is. Just a little bit more sleep, just a little, and she'll get up again. "I asked some witches on the road and they don't seem to know the origin of it. Just that it was triggered by my curse. But they don't know where the root of it comes from."

Klaus sucks in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He pulls her a bit closer. "We'll figure it out, love. This I swear to you."

"I know," Caroline says softly, closing her eyes and slipping back into sleep.

Caroline and Klaus pull themselves out of bed and down the stairs to the table in the kitchen. Caroline makes herself a bowl of frosted cheerios cereal to munch on lazily. She doesn't have much of an appetite but she starts to eat regardless, knowing that she should. She munches on it slowly, leaning her head on Klaus's shoulder.

"Good morning, darling," Rebekah says, sitting down next to her at the head of the table. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Caroline says after swallowing a mouthful of cereal. "But I'm okay now."

"I was really worried about you," Rebekah says, resting her cheek on her fist. "I've never seen anything like that."

"That was one of those attacks that you were telling us about, yes?" Elijah asks, walking into the room looking like he was about to head out to the red carpet as a VIP. Caroline is envious of how perfect he looks all the time.

Caroline nods. "Yeah, that was one of those times, but that one was definitely the worst I've ever had."

"I wish that there was more I could have done for you," Rebekah says softly. "It's been a long time since I've felt so helpless. And this is normal for you? Is it normal for most werewolves?"

"No, I'm the only one who has it," Caroline says, stuffing some more cereal into her mouth, chew for a bit, then swallow before continuing, "But I suppose I'm a weird one. As far as anyone I've spoken to, I'm the only one that goes through this."

"Lucky girl," Rebekah says softly, looking down at the wood grain of the table. "I just hated that all I could do was sit there doing nothing."

"You didn't do nothing," Caroline disagrees. "You were there for me, holding my hand and rubbing my hair. I didn't know what it was like to go through that with someone at my side," she admits. "Now I don't know if I could ever do it alone again. Having you there helped keep my mind off of the pain. So thank you, Rebekah. You did more for me than I could dare ask for." Caroline reaches forward, leaving her spoon in her bowl, and placing her hand over Rebekah's, looking into her eyes.

Rebekah squeezes her eyes closed suppressing whatever emotion was building up in her heart. When she opens her eyes again, her pretty blue eyes are clear once more. "Us girls got to stick together," she says, squeezing Caroline's hand. "You and me, darling."

Caroline smiles at the other blond. "You and me."

***

"I wanted to apologize," Elena says as soon as Caroline picks up the phone a few hours later.

They were all sitting around in the living room, talking about what was going to happen next. Which was that Klaus and Elijah were leaving to hunt down some werewolves to see if Klaus could make some hybrids out of them. Caroline could tell Elijah didn't seem too keen on the idea but relented in not wanting Klaus to be out there unsupervised on his own. Klaus seemed indignant on the fact that they felt he needed supervision, but he did appear as though he wanted a wingman.

Even joked something along the lines of, "You or Stefan, brother." Caroline felt needed some clarification, but she wasn't sure how to broach that topic, or even if she really wanted to. But no one else said anything, while Rebekah gave Klaus a peculiar look before they moved on. Rebekah opted to stay, suggesting to remain for the time being to continue to get acquainted with this century with Caroline's help - which Caroline figured was code for; I don't want to leave the weird werewolf girl alone just yet.

But Caroline didn't mind, she liked the idea of Rebekah keeping her company.

They just got to the part where Klaus had already called for someone to come by to sign the deed to the house over to Caroline. She didn't even have time to process what he said before her phone started to ring. Caroline contemplated not answering before she saw that it was Elena calling and figured that since she was the one who stomped off last night, the least she could do was hear what the girl had to say. Maybe even apologize. Last night wasn't so bad until Damon arrived. She can't exactly be mad at Elena for his big mouth.

Caroline excused herself, vowing to continue the conversation when she comes back before stepping into the next room.

"I see," Caroline says. "But you don't have to. You aren't responsible for Damon."

"No," Elena agrees, "but I feel like I have to say something. That wasn't what yesterday was supposed to be about. So I'm sorry that Damon came and ruined that with all his questions."

"You are no more responsible for Damon than I am for Klaus," Caroline repeats. "They are grown-ass men, older than you and I combined. The lattermost one is older than all three of us combined, but equally, they should know better. You shouldn't have to apologize for Damon. His actions, his choice." Caroline lets out a disgruntled sigh wondering how many times she would have to say that.

"Okay..." Elena says softly before lapsing into a contemplative silence.

"Listen," Caroline says, leaning against the doorframe to the other room, tired of this conversation, "Elena, you mean well, and I think it's super sweet of you to keep reaching out for me. I appreciate it, I really do, but I don't know what to do. If you don't want to be my friend, that's fine. I'll understand. But if you do want to be my friend, Klaus is off-limits. I'm sorry he hurt you, but I can't change the past. And our friendship can't be built on how we view Klaus, because it'll never survive."

"I know," Elena says. "I know, and I'm sorry. I'm not trying to. It's a lot to get passed, you know?"

"Yes," Caroline admits. "I know. Which is why I appreciate you trying. And thanks for inviting me yesterday. It was nice to see everyone again. To put faces to the names of the kids from elementary school."

Elena laughs softly. "You're welcome. I just wished it could have ended better."

"Next time," Caroline says kindly. "It'll be better next time."

Elena lets out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear it. And I do, Caroline. I do want to be your friend. Even though it was a rocky ending, Bonnie and I especially, want to see you again soon. So do Tyler and Matt."

"I'm surprised about Tyler," Caroline admits.

"Birds of a feather," Elena says. "He told me that it was kind of a relief to see that there was someone else like him. Yes, there was Jules and the people she ran with, but none of them were our age, I guess. Plus, we all have a history together, no matter how minute." A pause, then, "And you've been a werewolf longer than him. So I think that plays a role in it too."

Caroline couldn't say she disagrees with that. Although, there definitely isn't anything that Caroline could do to help Tyler in any way that whoever this Jules was wouldn't have been able to do. Plus, Caroline isn't so well put together that she should be helping anyone with anything. But she wouldn't mind talking with him if he needed it.

"Well, feel free to give them my number," Caroline says. "But I need to go now. If you don't mind, I'll text you later, alright?"

"Of course," Elena says quickly. "Thanks for being so understanding. I'll text you later. See you."

"Bye."

Caroline hangs up the phone, stuffing into her pocket and walking back into the living room, lowering down on the couch next to Klaus again, turning to look at him.

"What were you saying?" Caroline tries to switch her mindset away from her conversation with Elena and back to what they were talking about before she left to talk on the phone. "Oh yeah, what was this insanity about signing your house over to me? Klaus, do you want me to go running and screaming?"

Klaus huffs, rolling his eyes. "No, but while you're here, I would like to ensure that there is at least an extra layer of protection."

"I'll be here," Rebekah says, her eyebrows pulling together. "I'll keep her safe."

"And let's say for argument's sake that I've been on the road for years have some idea of what I need to do to not only survive but to keep myself safe..." Caroline mumbles, giving Klaus a sideways look, then Rebekah. "If this is for extra protection, fine, but I don't want it to mean anything more. I'm already starting to get the itch to run for my life."

"It's for protection," Klaus says. "Vampires need to be invited in to be able to enter this house. I have no doubt of my dear sister's ability to keep you safe, but I have no shortage of enemies. Some of which want to use anyone they can in order to get at me and I don't want that to be you. This is just my way of keeping you safe from some of them."

"Klaus is right, Caroline," Elijah says diplomatically. "Besides, if it's easier, think of this as a safehouse. Someplace you have control over."

"It's your home," Caroline says, looking at the oldest Mikaelson, "not mine."

"For the moment," Elijah says amicably, "but I don't imagine that there is much keeping us here forever. This is a temporary thing, Caroline, I assure you. The only difference is, temporary for us could be a lifetime for you." He presses his lips together tightly, staring at her meaningfully. "Something like signing over a house is a minuscule situation for us. My brother is correct, you should capitalize on any chance to keep yourself safe and if Nikalus is willing to flip the bill for it, that's his prerogative."

Caroline cracks a smile, looking over at Klaus. "That's my mantra, after all."

Klaus's lips quirk up at that. "Good. It's easier just to let me do what I'd like."

"Oh lord," Rebekah says, rolling her eyes and leaning back in the armchair she was sitting in, looking over at Elijah standing next to her with a droll look. "Are you going to be alright alone with him? You could just let him go on his own, he's a big boy. Let him make his hybrids alone. Replace us with his new family."

Her words were flippant, but Caroline can hear the pain twinging in her voice. She definitely thinks that this is what he's going to do. Making these hybrids means that he sacrifices the people already in his life. Like his siblings. She can kind of understand where Rebekah is coming from, but she remembers spending hours listening to Klaus talk about his siblings. About growing up playing in the forest, about practicing sword fighting, playing in the mud, catching bugs and hunting.

Klaus could talk about his siblings for hours with the biggest, cutest smile on his face. Caroline knows that Klaus loves his siblings a lot. She doesn't believe that these hybrids are meant to replace those people he loves so much. She doesn't know what else they could be for, but she knows it's not that. But it's not her place to say here. That's between them, or something to talk about in private with Rebekah later.

Now wasn't the time to voice her own input on family matters. Not her place.

"Are we going to argue about this again, Rebekah?" Klaus grounds out, glaring at his sister.

"I would rather we not," Elijah says finitely, sparing a look between both siblings to ensure they both stay quiet and submissive. The younger two stare at one another for a bit longer before both deciding that it's not worth the fight and both of them look away. Which is good, Caroline hates listening to them argue. It makes her really sad.

***

Caroline signs the deed to the house and has to go through the motion of inviting all three Originals in - of which, Klaus's stipulation was a kiss, which made him flash her that beautiful crooked grin of his and he happily obliged. Then for the rest of the day, Caroline lazed around in bed while Klaus got ready to head out with Elijah the next morning. It felt sudden, way too sudden, but it was what he had planned before she showed up. He vowed to come back before the next full moon and she believed that he would try but told him not to force himself. She would be okay if he didn't. He should focus on what he was doing, his life didn't revolve around her.

And then he promised again.

The month was almost over and they were starting to close in on the next full moon, although they still had a couple of weeks. She meant what she said if he couldn't find his way back in time, it was fine. Not that she wouldn't like to at least be with Klaus sooner rather than later. But she doesn't want to stand in the way of whatever it is that he's doing. Making hybrids is important to him. It's not her place to stand in his way.

Once he was packed up for the trip he's taking, he lounges around in bed with Caroline until it's time to go to sleep, then Caroline relishes in his warmth for as long as she can, insisting he wait to get up a little bit longer each time he tries to go. She knew he had to go eventually, but it didn't make it easier when he kept relenting and laying back down with her.

But alas, all good things come to an end and eventually he gets up, kissing her long and sweetly, before heading out. Caroline wanted to go to see him off, but she was so much sorer today than she was yesterday. So she lounged around all day, reading and watching television, which she never really had the time to watch a lot of, before limping downstairs and conning Rebekah into watching some movies with her. She didn't know a whole lot of new ones but Rebekah seemed down to join her in a multi-flick movie day. Lots of popcorns and snacks to help her get acquainted with movies of all genres.

They had a lot fun talking through the gushing parts of movies, or the cliches - which weren't cliches to Rebekah - and discovered that Rebekah's favorite genre was the same as Caroline's: romance. They watched a lot of romance flicks.

And the day after, she met up with Elena and Bonnie. With just the three of them, it was nice to get back into a groove that she remembered - even if only faintly. And it was a little odd, trying to work passed Damon's rant and how all of them feel about Klaus, but they managed to skirt their way around the touchy subjects and ended up on a really good note. With the promise to meet up again, they went their separate ways once more.

Caroline took this time to go and meet up with Liz again, having dinner in her childhood home, which was very weird as she hardly has any memories of it, but after dinner, she was allowed to explore and look around to familiarize herself with it once more. Caroline's sure this was probably an attempt at trying to get Caroline to move back in, but neither of them said anything.

Caroline got a blast from the past looking around her nine-year-old self's room. All the rainbows and butterflies and unicorns scattered about. The bright pastel colors, all the stuffed animals and the handmade pictures that little her was so proud of she had to put on her wall. Older Caroline can now cringe in appreciation, for what it's worth. She found an old diary that was even more cringe-worthy, that she hid in a better spot, hoping she would forget where it was and the horrors of inner Caroline's mind would die with her.

She got a call from her dad the following day, asking if she would like to come to visit for a few days, get reacquainted and meet his boyfriend Steve. Caroline wasn't sure about it, holding off for a few days while meeting with Elena and Bonnie again and finally talking to her mom about it. Liz was hesitant at first but said that the full moon was still weeks away and it should be fine to spend a few days with him if she wanted.

And honestly, yeah, she supposed she did want to see her dad again. She was always a daddy's girl at heart, but she had been so scared for so long how he would react with her being a werewolf that she thought the desire would have dissipated over time, but it seems now that she's rebuilding a relationship with her mother, maybe she could with her father.

"It's only going to be for a few days," Caroline says into her phone, laying back on her bed. "This will be the first time I've seen my dad in years. My mom was the last person that I saw. She was the one that dropped me off with my aunt Cassie."

"If that's what you want, love," Klaus says flippantly, "then I suppose it's your choice. Just keep safe and call me if you need anything."

"Thanks," Caroline says, looking at Rebekah stalking into the room. Caroline turns her phone onto 'speaker', scooting to one side of the bed so that Rebekah can lay down next to her with Caroline's phone laying between them.

"So how is your werewolf hunting trip going?" Rebekah asks. Caroline doesn't respond, not knowing how to be part of that conversation seeing as she's a werewolf herself. She knows that werewolves find safety in numbers - in packs, but Caroline's never had that. She's only ever had her aunt. And then Klaus and now Klaus, Rebekah, and Elijah. She doesn't have a pack, she has people, which should go against her nature. She should want a pack, but she doesn't really know what to do.

She doesn't have a lot of connection with werewolves - well, now she has Tyler that she knows and could talk to - but that was about it. She wasn't raised with a pack mentality, she probably won't ever get it. But still, she doesn't want to think about Klaus out there turning werewolves into hybrids. The only thing she can do is hope that he's giving them a choice.

But she's not sure she's going to be able to hold her breath on that one.

"It's going," Klaus says easily, "but werewolves are hard to find."

"Ah," Rebekah says, "so when you say it's going, what you really mean is that it's not going well. Serves you right, brother."

Caroline can feel Klaus roll his eyes from the other side of the phone. "I don't have the energy to fight with you, Rebekah."

"Yeah," Rebekah says flippantly, smoothing out her shirt across her stomach before looking over at Caroline, winking, "too tired from chasing all those dead ends, aye brother?"

"Goodbye, Caroline," Klaus says flatly, hanging up the phone, which makes Rebekah bust out laughing.

"That wasn't very nice of you," Caroline giggles while shaking her head, looking over at Rebekah.

Rebekah shrugs her shoulders. "Is it not the duty of a little sister to pester her older brother?" Caroline doesn't know for certain but the social cliche says yes, so she assumes that it's got to be true in part. "Alright, Caroline, what are we going to do tonight? More movies?"

Caroline laughs, nodding her head. "Sounds good to me, let's go!"


	12. For You

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline leans close to Rebekah, seeing Elena and Bonnie on the other side of the couch leaning together in her peripheral. All of their eyes locked onto the t.v screen in front of them. It's late, pitch black out with the low rumble of a storm in the distance and rain slamming into the house. Of course, tonight had to be the night that they all decided to watch scary movies. Caroline thought that they would all enjoy spending time together with scary movies, which Elena and Bonnie both said they liked, and Caroline figured that seeing as Rebekah is a really old vampire, she's bound not to be scared by anything.

Jointly, everyone's screams of terror as the killer chases the heroine around the house has proved her the fool that she is.

"Why does the music have to cut out like this?" Rebekah gasps as the heroine walk through the bedroom, looking for the source of a spooky tapping noise covered in blood and shaking in fear.

"It's for the scare factor," Elena mumbles, tanned face pale. "It's to make it more intense."

"I hate this movie," Rebekah whispers, gripping Caroline's hands tightly. Caroline nods, swallowing thickly right as the killer jumps out from behind the bed and tries to stab the heroine, lightning strikes outside, making the lights flicker and the heroine's scream mixes with the screams of the four girls in the room. A dark shadow falls over the doorway leading into the room. Rebekah's eyes catch the shadow first, gasping and jumping up, grabbing a pencil off of the table next to her and throwing it faster than Caroline's eyes could follow.

The person takes it to the arm, grunting in pain as the other three girls jump to their feet. Bonnie raises her hands quickly, saying something in a language Caroline doesn't know and the lights turn on showing Klaus standing in the doorway, pulling the pencil out of his shoulder to glare at Rebekah. He groans, pulling the bloody pencil from his shoulder, hisses before dropping it on the ground.

"Rebekah..." Klaus growls.

"Well, you should have known better than to just waltz in here in the middle of our scary movie marathon while it's storming out. You're lucky a pencil was the only thing that was thrown at you, you absolute loon." Rebekah crosses her arms over her chest, glaring back at him.

Klaus looks over at the television screen, eyebrows furrowing together at the sight of it, before looking over at Caroline. "You're watching movies? On the night of the full moon? That's how you choose to spend your hours leading up to the change?" He clicks his tongue and shakes his head, nailing the disappointed father look.

"We started this whole thing this morning," Caroline defends herself. "It started with Werewolf in London, then the Wolfman and we kind of evolved from there."

"As if that makes any of this better," Klaus says, rolling his eyes. He looks over at Bonnie and Elena, tilting his head slightly so that water droplets from his hair. He's not soaked, unfortunately, but he got decently wet going from the car in the driveway to the house itself. His hair is wet, his shirt is too, but it's not straight out of a movie, wet. Plus it's a simple green henley, so even if it was, there wasn't going to be a motion picture scene any time soon, but it's good enough.

Caroline wants nothing more than to grab that ancient hybrid and throw him onto a bed and rip his clothes off. They have gone longer without seeing each other, but it's the night of the full moon and she's been fighting the urge all-day, but Klaus wasn't there. And he'd probably be smug to hear that once being with him, she wasn't interested in being with another. So she used any number of things to get her mind off the full moons that Klaus wasn't there for - like this one. She honestly thought he wasn't going to make it back in time, which she wouldn't have been mad about despite his promises.

Bonnie and Elena offered to keep her company today, along with Rebekah. They were interested in hearing about Caroline. They were able to help Tyler through his first transformation but he's been alone since, preferring to be, in an old cellar owned by the Lockwoods. Caroline has been taking this time to renovate - with Klaus's credit card and permission, seeing as this was the most she's ever spent on it - to make the basement capable of holding her during her changes.

Of course, when she called to talk to him, Klaus actually laughed, not sure why she felt like she had to ask, seeing as he gave her that card to use however she wanted to. And even though he said that, and she knew he meant it, Caroline also gets the feeling that he was also happy that she was willing to still talk to him. To include him in her plans and hear his input if he has any.

She told them about how she usually has a hard time with her transformations. About how hard it is on her body and how she's usually out for a day or so afterward. Naturally, they both found it weird just like everyone Caroline has told about it, and Bonnie even offered to look into it for her, which she appreciated. She wasn't sure what Bonnie would be able to find, but it warmed her heart to know that she was willing to keep an eye out on anything that might at least be able to explain why it's like this for her.

Lightning strikes again. At the same time as the heroine screams bloody murder on the television and another dark figure appears next to Klaus. The girls scream once more, and another pencil goes flying through the air at this figure. This time, the person catches it. And in the middle of all of it, Caroline has to wonder how the heck Rebekah keeps finding these pencils when Elijah steps into view, making the human, witch, and werewolf sink back into the couch in relief while Rebekah stomps over to the television, turning it off.

"Bloody hell, I am done with this movie," she growls, then turns on the light. She wraps her arms around herself, freaked out.

"I'm sorry," Elijah says, sounding sincere as he lays the pencil down and out of the way. "It seems we've interrupted something." Unlike Klaus, Elijah looks relatively dry. He probably was the only one smart enough to use an umbrella. Not, that a chill could kill a vampire, let alone an Original, but still.

Caroline pushes past the fear of the movie and the sudden appearance of the Mikaelson brothers. She stands up again, walking toward Klaus, opening her arms up. She wouldn't have been mad at him if he hadn't been able to make it in time, but she's so glad that he did. It's a relief to wrap her arms around him tightly.

She didn't care that he was wet - smelling like a wet dog to her sensitive nose, and she loved it. Because beneath that, she could smell something that was entirely Klaus. That beautiful, wonderful smell that she simply can't get enough of. She presses her nose into his damp neck and breathes in deeply, feeling him do the same.

She kisses the side of Klaus's neck, right at the pulse point, before opening her eyes to see Elijah staring at them with a soft expression on his face. She mouths, "welcome back" to him, which he nods back to, offering a tiny smile.

"Welcome back," she whispers into Klaus's ear before kissing it and pulling back finally to smile at him.

"You didn't think I would be able to make it back in time, did you?" Klaus asks, judging her with his eyes, a knowing smile working its way across his lips. He can read her mind, she just knows it.

"I wouldn't have been mad about it," Caroline says flippantly. "You have a life outside of me."

Klaus rolls his eyes like he's got something to say about that but decides he doesn't want to fight about it. Which Caroline is sure is for the best. She's so happy to see him and that he's back at least for tonight that she doesn't want to argue with him.

"Well," Elena says, looking at Elijah and Klaus uncomfortably, "I think it's time for us to go."

Bonnie nods in agreement, taking Elena's hand as Caroline finally steps away from Klaus, saying, "It's pouring out there. You don't have to leave. It'll be kind of scary listening to me wolf out, but this place is pretty sturdy. It'll be okay."

Elena smiles lightly at that, reaching out with her unoccupied hand as the two girls stand up to touch Caroline's arm. "We'll be okay. We'll see you tomorrow?"

Caroline shakes her head. "No, probably not. I'll need a few days to recover. Give me two or three and then we'll be fine."

Elena's smile falls and her eyebrows pull together in worry, as does Bonnie. The witch says, softly, "Then we'll go do something when you're feeling better, okay? Just give us a call."

Caroline nods. "Okay. Thanks for coming over, girls."

Caroline goes to see them out. She stands in the doorway with the porch light on as they run through the ran and climb into Elena's car. She waits until their car is on and they're backing up into the road and driving off before she steps back in and turns the light off, closing the door. Caroline turns to see Klaus. She smiles at him, walking up next to Elijah.

"Thank you for the movie day, Rebekah. I think I'm going to go down into the basement now."

Rebekah smiles, walking over and hugging her tightly. "Anytime, dear. I think I'm spooked enough for the night. I'm going to treat myself to a nice hot bubble bath and then I'm going to bed. I'll see you when you're up and about, alright?"

Caroline nods, hugging her back, tightly. "Goodnight."

Rebekah smiles, pulling away. She looks at Elijah, putting a hand on his arm before kissing his cheek, then pats the wound on Klaus's shoulder, grinning a bit at his glare. She kisses his cheek too, which he allows before she steps passed and heads up the stairs.

Caroline pats Elijah's arm, he reaches out, giving her own a squeeze before letting go and she makes her way toward the basement door. She can hear Klaus coming up behind her.

"Goodnight, Elijah!" Caroline calls.

"Goodnight, Caroline," Elijah reciprocates. "Look after her, brother."

Klaus holds the door open for her, saying, "I always do." Before following her down the stairs. There is a second, heavy-duty metal door at the bottom that has a latch on both sides, seeing as her wolf can't open a door, she wanted to ensure that if she was alone, she could lock herself in there until she returned human.

She even had the window barred - which surely would have people asking questions if Rebekah didn't compel the handyman. She wanted to make sure that her wolf wouldn't be able to leave the room. She even made herself a little bed with a pile of blankets and pillows that weren't exactly comfortable against her skin as a human but she didn't want to waste a lot of money on something that her wolf was just going to tear to shreds.

The basement was finished, and huge, which was a waste of space for her wolf, as if it could have been used for something more fun, but she didn't know where else to look for a safe place to turn, so this was going to have to do.

"Nice place you've got here," Klaus says playfully as Caroline pulls off her shirt and shorts before just sitting down on the pillows and blankets in only her underwear and bra. Caroline glares at him for his comment until she sees him appreciating her with wiggling eyebrows when her eyes meet his, letting out a laugh. She lays back against the pillows, waving for him to come over.

He does, dropping down on all fours and crawling over her and settling down on top of her, pressing his weight down on her. Caroline giggles, wrapping her arms around him as he kisses her. It's not sex, but Caroline doesn't mind a lot of kissing and light touching. Just as a... welcome back. Just laying there in the little nest she mad with the reassuring heat of his body against hers as well as that delicious smell in her nose. It just feels so good to have him in her arms. She really did miss him.

They kiss for a while, just remembering each other. It really hasn't been that long, and she knows that they've been apart longer, but still, this feels different. It's probably because he reawakened the werewolf dormant inside of him from his mother's curse, that's probably part of it. Now that they are both werewolves having sex with each other is probably making it harder to be away from each other. Caroline's not sure if she's on the right page or anything, but she likes this feeling, and it scares her.

She kisses him long and slow before he finally pulls away a bit. She takes a few deep breaths, realizing she wasn't really breathing the whole time before asking, softly, "How did it go? Did you, um, get your hybrids?"

Klaus sighs. He's leaning on one arm while the other one is running across her ribs slowly. Placing his fingers between them, which makes him frown unhappily, before looking back up into her eyes. "I didn't get my hybrids. There is something wrong."

Caroline's eyebrows pull together as she stares at him. "Do you know what's wrong?"

Klaus shakes his head, pressing his pale lips into a thin line. She touches them lightly, realizing he probably needs blood soon, but was so much more interested in coming back to see her than get his fill. He's too good to her. He really is.

"I'm starting to wonder if maybe it's because Elena is alive," Klaus grounds out. "She was supposed to die in the ritual, so maybe the reason that it doesn't work is that she's alive."

"I don't know..." Caroline says softly. "I mean, I'm no expert on curses or anything, but it broke the curse on you. It shouldn't have anything to do with her being alive now, right?" She looks at his face, trying to decipher his dark expression. "I mean, I guess I could be wrong."

"You have a point," Klaus admits, "I just need to think of something. Perhaps I should visit Stefan tomorrow while you rest and see... if he has any ideas."

Caroline's eyebrows pull together, not sure Stefan liked him enough to try and help, but if that's what he wanted to do, she wasn't going to stop him. She did feel bad though. She knew he wanted to be able to make hybrids. She's not really sure why and when she asked Rebekah once, it only seemed to upset her as she spit out something about him wanting a family that would never betray him.

Caroline decided to not ask her about it again.

"What do you need to make a hybrid?" Caroline asks.

His eyes zero in on her own as he considers her words. "My blood," he says softly. "They need my blood. With my blood, they should be able to turn. Should, being the operative word. I just don't understand why it isn't."

"Maybe there can't be hybrids made," Caroline says softly, pushing a small, loose curl across his forehead.

Klaus glares at her. "I'm a hybrid. Others can be made."

"Okay..." Caroline says slowly, seeing that she's starting to make him mad. "Maybe it has to be on the full moon like your awakening was."

"Maybe," Klaus grumbles, blinking slowly before shaking his head. "No, I don't think so. My mother is a crafting, conniving witch. She does like her games and her loopholes."

Caroline feels the tingles of the change starting to wash over her as the moon starts to reach its highest point. She's going to have to change soon. Caroline didn't know a lot about the curse that Klaus had to break in order to awaken the werewolf in him, other than it had to be on the full moon and it required the sacrifice of a werewolf, vampire and the doppelganger.

"Hey, Klaus?" Klaus looks at her with pretty blue eyes. "Don't judge me if this is a dumb question, but if it's supposed to be based on you... didn't you need three elements to awaken your hybrid nature? When you feed your blood to the wolves, aren't you only giving them two?"

"Giving them... two...?" Klaus says slowly, blinking a few times.

Caroline shrugs, adjusting a pillow that's digging into her back weird. "Yeah, you're both werewolf and a vampire. They are already werewolves, right? So I guess, you're really only giving them one thing. Then again, the only other element was Elena's blood, and you were supposed to of killed her, so maybe it really was a dumb question. I don't know, Klaus, I'm just saying stuff now."

Klaus blinks very slowly, processing her words. His blue eyes flicker back and forth, looking at her but not really seeing her. She just watches him as all sorts of thoughts flicker through his head. She wants to know what he's thinking about but decides to just let him think. Hopefully, it'll settle that anger that was building up inside of him.

Suddenly, Klaus smiles. It's beautiful and lights up his whole face. He moves to sit up, cupping her head between both of his hands before leaning over her and kissing her lips so soft and sweetly, Caroline could feel herself melt into it.

"You, my beautiful little wolf, are an absolute genius," he purrs against her lips. Kissing her again and again.

Caroline's not sure what she did, but she'll accept the kisses anyway. She kisses him back just as hard as he kisses her, fighting the feeling of changing for as long as she can before she finally pushes him back a bit to whisper against his lips, "I'm going to change now. You should go."

Klaus shakes his head. "Not this time, my love. I'm going to see this one through."

"I don't want to hurt you," Caroline says automatically, then realizes what she said. "Okay, maybe it won't kill you... but I don't want to hurt you. Even if you can heal from it."

Klaus admires her with the sweetest smile on his face. "How did I ever get lucky enough to find you?"

Caroline laughs, finally sitting up. She reaches behind herself and unclasps her bra, pulling it off her shoulders and tossing it to the side before reaching for her underwear while saying, "You are just that lucky I guess."

Klaus looks at her appreciatingly. "Yes, I am." Caroline laughs, pushing his face away as she flushes in embarrassment. "Don't be like that, Caroline, you're beautiful."

"Shut up," she says, feeling how hot her face is.

***

Caroline doesn't remember a lot after she shifted. She vaguely remembers going for his face, running her tongue over every inch of it. She remembers rubbing against his throat, then pressing her nose against it and breaking in deeply to make sure her scent stayed, and when the wolf wasn't satisfied with how heavy her scent was on him, she went rubbing up against it again. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Caroline remembers that every time Klaus grinned at her - the one that made his cheekbones pop out and creases appear around his eyes - she would throw her head back and howl, pleased. With him sitting on the floor and her sitting next to him, she had to bend her neck to look down at him. She would lick his face and press into him as hard as she could.

She scratched him a few times, drew blood, in her excitement. He never got mad or snapped at her, and honestly, a smile never left his face in the many forms it took from what she remembers.

Caroline, and her wolf, were happy. Once she changed back, her first memory as a human again was laying in Klaus's lap. She was naked and sore, but his arms around her were warm compared to the chill of the basement. She maneuvers her weak arms around his shoulders, burying her face into his neck as he wraps a blanket around her a bit to cover her up.

She's thankful even though at this point she wouldn't really care if anyone saw her. But that's why Klaus is so good to her. Better to her than she deserved, that's for sure. He carries her up the two sets of stairs without complaint as she nuzzles into his neck, feeling his pulse against the tip of her nose. She feels his hand lightly squeeze her bare shoulder blade when she kisses his neck.

"Thank you for coming back," Caroline whispers raspily.

Klaus lays her down in bed, stepping away for a moment to grab her some clothes and helps her into them before crawling into bed with her. He presses his lips against her forehead, pulling her close to him. The sound of the rain against the window and the low rumble of the thunder coupled with Klaus' warmth is enough to ease her to sleep.

But before she does, she whispers, "Maybe sometime, you and I can go on a run together... do you... think?"

Klaus squeezes her tightly, nearly pushing the air out of her lungs before kissing her softly on the lips. "Yes. I would love to go on a run with you, my love. And once I am able to make my hybrids and you are willing to leave mortality behind, we can run any time your heart desires." Caroline feels herself smile as she starts to slip into slumber, knowing he might have to leave again soon, but at least he was here with her now.

***

"Caroline..."

Caroline jerks out of the blackness of sleep, twisting around wildly until her eyes land on Elijah, who was standing next to her bed with his hand on her shoulder, no doubt having shaken her a few times. Caroline sits up slowly, rubbing at her face, feeling tired.

"Elijah? Uh, what's going on? What time is it?" She asks, looking over toward the window to see that it's dark out. Her limbs hurt and she feels weak. She hasn't felt like this in a while, since the last time she and Klaus had sex for an ungodly amount of time. Except all that happened this time was her shift, yet she already feels like this.

What is going on?

"I swear those two are up to no good as always," Elijah says, shaking his head. "I got a lead that I am off to pursue, but I felt I had to make sure you woke up to someone here, seeing as Klaus and Rebekah have gone off to do something untoward in their desperation."

Caroline rubs at the back of her neck, pushing her back up against her headboard trying to organize her thoughts. "I'm sorry, what? My brain is way too fried to understand you, Elijah."

Elijah presses his lips together tightly before saying, "It's been three days, Caroline. You were showing no signs of waking up until about an hour ago and by then Rebekah and Klaus had already run off to confront your friends, I'm afraid. I've been trying to wake you up for a while now."

"Three days?" Caroline echoes, eyes wide. "Wh.. why? I'm only this bad off when... when..." she blinks rapidly, trying to understand. It's not like she's been having trouble sleeping leading up to the full moon. At least, nothing worse than what she usually does as the full moon draws near. She finally got used to the softness of the bed and she made sure not to laze around too much so that she would be able to sleep at night. This just doesn't make any sense. Why is everything getting harder?

Elijah sighs, sitting down next to her. "My brother and sister are very found of you. Rebekah doesn't know what to make of any of the troubles that you're having and my brother... Klaus thinks that these attacks that you get sometimes, that with every shift... how hard it is on you... my brother fears that it is drastically shortening your life." He looks at her, narrowing his eyes a bit, not like he's mad, but like he's trying to size her up.

Caroline frowns, looking down at he old graphic t-shirt Klaus helped her change into last night, er, three days ago. Caroline looks into Elijah's eyes. "Why would he think that? I'm okay. I'm just tired."

Elijah gives her a look. "Caroline, I may not know you as well as my siblings do, but even I can tell that you aren't doing well. Your change shouldn't be this hard on you - it isn't normal. And I admit, I am worried as well. My brother cares for you a lot and when what should have been an easy change this month is met with almost three days out of commission... it's not normal."

Caroline rubs at her forehead roughly, noticing the water that Elijah was offering her. She takes it from him and drinks up greedily, not realizing how thirsty she was until it was offered to her. She sets the glass down on the table, wiping the water that didn't make it into her mouth off with the back of her arm, not really caring at this point how bad it looks. She feels grimy and gross, she's going to need a shower.

"Where... what's happening?"

"I have a contact I need to go meet up with," Elijah says, "but I think you should know where Rebekah and Klaus are. I think you should know what they are doing."

Caroline's eyebrows pull together tightly. "What are they doing?"

Elijah looks down at the comforter for a moment before meeting her eyes. "They have gone to see Elena. At the high school. He has a suspicion that she may be the key to making hybrids and when you didn't wake up right away, he's been preparing to get her... assistance in doing so. He was trying to find other werewolves nearby when he remembered there was one..."

Caroline stares at him for a long moment, trying to understand what he was saying. "Oh, Tyler." Yes, Caroline has been spending time with Tyler too. It's odd, unlike Elena and Bonnie, who she used to be friends with as kids, Tyler was one of the kids in her class but not really a friend. So there wasn't a lot of past history to work through and they were able to sort of find their own rhythm. She would like so say that in these last few weeks they've become her friends. Bonnie, Elena, Tyler, Matt and she even liked Stefan. He wasn't so bad.

Matt and she also weren't friends back as kids so she could start fresh and new with him and Stefan wasn't a bad guy. Caroline couldn't stand his brother, Damon, but Stefan wasn't bad.

Caroline forces her mind back to the topic at hand. "Is Tyler going to be okay? What happened to the other hybrids Klaus tried to make? I know they didn't succeed, but what happened to them?"

"They died, Caroline," Elijah says softly. "Every single one of them. Klaus's blood didn't take. So they all died."

Caroline shoves off the covers, rushing over to her shoes, nearly falling over when all the blood rushed to her head before stuffing her feet into the shoes Klaus got for her and turning to face Elijah. She doesn't care how ridiculous she looks in shorts, t-shirt, and shoes. Them on top of that, she grabs a sweatshirt and says, "I'll go to them, talk to him. Klaus is weird when it comes to me."

"No," Elijah disagrees, standing up. "Klaus is protective of you."

Caroline doesn't respond to that, not knowing what to even say to it. "He's at the school? Him and Rebekah?"

"Yes," Elijah says. He hesitates a moment, then says, slowly, "My brother... what he feels for you..." he hesitates again, trying to think of the correct word to describe what he's trying to say. Then, his eyes meet her own and he says, "I see how my brother looks at you. How he treats you. My brother hasn't gotten this close to someone in a long time. He... dare I say, he loves you and what he's doing now... he's doing it because he thinks it'll save you. If he can successfully make hybrids, then when the time comes, and either you aren't strong enough to go through another shift, or you decide that you wish to give up your mortality, or heaven forbid, some sort of terrible alternative we won't offer more than a thought to, he wants to be able to save you. He's trying to make a hybrid for you."

Caroline shakes her head, not understanding. "Rebekha told me that Klaus has wanted to make hybrids for a long time. Long before he ever met me."

"He did," Elijah admits, "but that's changed. Now what pushes him onward so fervently, isn't out of some unexplainable reason to have someone he perceives who won't ever leave or betray him anymore. All on our trip, all he could talk about was making a successful hybrid - just one - so that he could go home. To you."

A series of emotions swell in her chest as Caroline struggles to find the words for it. She never agreed to become a hybrid. She wasn't even sure if that was what she even wanted in the first place. Well, no, in the back of her mind she kind of thought it was always a possibility. She wasn't sure she wanted to die or anything like that, but as much as she won't admit it aloud when she learned that Klaus had awakened his werewolf side when he left to see if he could make more like him, she entertained the idea of one day becoming one, just to be with him.

As much as the thought of staying in one place, with one person, forever scared the living daylights out of her, she also felt something akin to hope. That may be, in binding herself to Klaus, it also bound him to her. He wouldn't ever leave her. He would never have a reason to. She wouldn't ever have to be alone anymore.

And despite her fear of commitment, of being abandoned, the more time she spent with the Mikaelson; Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah, the more she wanted to stay with them.

She knew that even if she wasn't willing to admit it out loud, she was falling in love with Klaus, and even though he said he already loved her too, the fact that he was jumping through all sorts of hurdles to ensure she spent a long, immortal life with him, made her feel both trapped and liberated. The only real problem she had with any of this was Tyler. He was her friend, and all the other werewolves have died before. She can't just sit around and let Tyler die too. Not for her, she's not worth that.

"I'll go to the school," Caroline hears herself say. "You go do whatever it is you have to. Thank you for telling me, Elijah."

With that, she heads out, praying that she isn't too late.


	13. Athena

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline steps into the school gym, shivering and tired from the run from the parking lot. She wraps her arms around herself, looking down at Bonnie, Matt, and Tyler first. The lattermost of which was laying on his side as if he was asleep, but Caroline knew that there was no way that was true. Caroline felt herself get rooted in place, staring down at the other wolf. He was her friend. They didn't know each other super well, but she did consider him her friend. They were getting close this last month.

And there he was, dead on the floor. Because of her. Because of Klaus's love for her. Because he's worried that she was dying.

"Oh god," Caroline gasps, "Tyler."

Bonnie looks up at her, brown eyes blown wide. "Caroline! Thank god! Make him stop!"

Caroline's mouth drops open, watching as Tyler starts to stir. She can't bear to look at him any longer, she drags her eyes over to Klaus and Rebekah to see Klaus holding Elena's bleeding hand over a simple solo cup and Rebekah has her high heel pressed down into Stefan's chest. As in her heel is piercing his chest and his face is twisted in pain.

"Your timing is impeccable, Caroline," Klaus says easily, dropping Elena's hand and turning around to walk toward Tyler. "Lockwood here was just about to prove a point." He kneels down next to Bonnie, who scoots back a bit, eyeing him worriedly as Tyler blinks blearily up at Klaus as if confused.

"What point?" Caroline asks, her lips numb and barely moving.

"That my mother is a manipulative witch who will stop at nothing to undermind her defective progeny after he finally got what he wanted," Klaus says, smiling accomplished at having figured out the unknown mystery that came with breaking his curse.

Klaus helps Tyler sit up and brings the solo cup to his lips when Caroline whispers, "This isn't what I wanted, Klaus. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. Especially not my friends."

Klaus pauses for a moment, not turning to look at her before pressing the cup close and tipping it up so that he can drink. "I know, love. But this is the only way to know for certain in an acceptable amount of time. It will work. I know it."

"And if it doesn't," Caroline asks, eyebrows pulled together tightly as she wraps her arms tighter around herself, shaking from the cold.

"Then nothing too significant was lost. Just one more werewolf," Klaus says, shrugging his shoulders.

"He's not just one more werewolf, Klaus," Elena gasps, pretty eyes blown wide.

"He's my friend. Or he was, until you killed him," Caroline says, her lips trembling and she's not sure if its from the blasting cold air of the gym coupled with the cold rain or the emotions swirling around inside of her like an angry maelstrom. Even though he's moving now, drinking the blood in the cup, to Caroline, he looks dead. His skin is pale, there are dark circles around his eyes and Caroline can smell death on him. She's never seen someone who was transitioning into a vampire but it seems like they reek of their recent death.

And it makes her sick.

"With Elena's blood, the transition should be completed," Klaus says, watching Tyler with wide, curious blue eyes.

A groaning draws Caroline's eyes toward Rebekah and Stefan, and it's then that she sees Damon just off behind the brown-haired Salvatore, sitting up slowly and rubbing at his neck. Rebekah looks down at him with disinterest as Stefan refuses to break his focus on the Original sister in front of him. Caroline feels bad about this entire thing, even for Damon's healing neck.

"Klaus," Caroline says quietly, feeling herself tremble with the cold and sickness from the situation, never mind that she just went through another difficult full moon and it has worn her body down more than most others. "Klaus," she says a bit louder after almost an entire minute of Klaus and Tyler just staring at each other, no doubt the older of the two looking for signs of rejection.

Klaus smiles, pleased, before patting Tyler's cheek and standing up, looking at Caroline with bright eyes. "Yes, love?"

"Take me home now, please," she begs, tears sliding down her face. She can see the angry eyes of everyone else in the room - aside from Rebekah - looking between them. She wraps her arms around herself. Klaus's smile fades as he stares at the distraught and destroyed look on her face, and it hurts her, even more, to see the confusion on his face like he doesn't understand what he did wrong.

"Caroline-" Klaus starts but Caroline shakes her head, holding her hand up to stop.

"This isn't what I wanted," Caroline says, her voice shaking. "I never wanted anyone to get hurt, especially not because of me. Please, just take me home."

Klaus stands up, walking over to Caroline, touching her bare arms. The heat of his hands helps her realize just how cold she is but before she can even think of anything other than how nice his hands feel on her skin, Klaus removes his leather jacket and helps Caroline into it. She doesn't have the strength to even really move so she just lets him manipulate her body until the jacket is over her shoulders.

"It's freezing, Caroline, and you shouldn't be out of bed..." Klaus says, not looking at her in the eye.

Caroline looks down at the hardwood of the gym, unable to look at anyone anymore. All she can see is Tyler's deathly face and the smell of death in her nose. She did this. Not directly, of course. But this was her fault.

Then again, she did always say that it wasn't her place to apologize on Klaus's behalf, but now she finally understands what Elena meant when she said that she felt compelled to apologize on Damon's behalf, Caroline feels that same way now. But apologizing on Klaus's behalf doesn't do anything for anyone. Yet she feels like she has to, but the words won't come.

Caroline's eyes lock onto Tyler's as he stares back at her. She prays that her eyes can express everything she wishes she could say. This isn't what she wanted. She never wanted anyone to get hurt because of her. It shouldn't have been this way, and as selfish as it is, Caroline knew that those wolves weren't being asked if they wanted to turn, they were being forced against their will. They were no different than Tyler, except for one little thing. Caroline knows Tyler. Caroline likes Tyler. Caroline can see Tyler and talk to him, and she saw what had to be done.

"Come along, dear," Rebekah says, appearing on her other side to walk escort her out with Klaus. The two of them keep close, oblivious to what they have done. Or, perhaps they don't really care. They are thousand-year-old sibling vampires that have hurt and killed so many people over the course of their lives that they probably don't even think twice about it.

It was a good thing that they were basically dragging her along, because she couldn't feel her toes. She's not sure if it's because of the cold, or because of the bile working its way up her throat. All she can see if Tyler's vacant eyes staring back at her. Dozens of unknown eyes of unknown wolves staring back at her as the ritual fails and they die. It must have happened very quickly after the transition because Klaus appeared as though he saw everything that he needed to. Like it all worked out for the better for him and he didn't need to stick around anymore.

Once they make it outside, Caroline steps away from the siblings to puke into the grass. Seeing as she's been out for a few days, it's mostly water and stomach acid. And a lot of dry heaving. In her mind's eye, she can see the vacant look in Tyler's eyes as Klaus slowly pulls him back from beyond death. How in just a few moments he was dead, straddling life and death, and then alive once more.

All for her sake.

She feels Klaus pull her wet hair back and out of the way to try and save it from all the vomit, but Caroline has already resigned herself to taking a really, really long hot shower. Her shoes, sweatshirt, and shorts are completely soaked through because from the borrowed car to the highschool the heavens opened up and it started to pour.

Klaus was rubbing at her back until the dry heaving slowed to a stop.

"That wasn't what I wanted," Caroline says to the mud, rubbing the water from her eyes as the rain slowly starts to let up. She shakes her head slowly, spitting a bit before slowly straightening up to look at the ancient hybrid.

"I know," Klaus says, running the back of his finger up the side of her face, not even pretending that he didn't hear her or understand what she meant. He just scans her face with his pretty blue eyes, nodding slowly. He understood what she was trying to say, but he wasn't sorry for what he did. She doesn't need to study his face to know that.

"We should go," Rebekah says, glaring up at the sky as if it was offending her by raining. "It's cold out here and Caroline shouldn't be out of bed as it is. I can't believe the Elijah let her leave while the weather was like this."

"He woke me up," Caroline says, straightening up completely and rubbing at her face, hoping there wasn't any vomit on her chin. "He told me what you guys were doing. But he had to leave. He... had to meet a contact about something." Caroline pushes the wet blond hair out of her face, turning her sad eyes toward Klaus. "I think he's gone for now. You'll have to call him if you want to talk to him, I guess."

Klaus nods, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and leading her toward his car. Despite the torrent of emotions inside of her, she leans into his side and follows after him. She's exhausted and cold and she's always at her weakest following the full moon and this was no exception. She didn't have sex before, and she didn't really do anything strenuous as a wolf, she can't begin to understand why this transformation was so much harder on her than any of the others when it shouldn't have been.

The only thing that she can rationalize is maybe, just maybe, Klaus wasn't wrong. Maybe Elijah was right when he said that Klaus feared these attacks, her transformation... it was all shortening her life. That's the only rational thing that she can think of. The only thing she doesn't understand; is why. Why would she be capable of shifting into a werewolf every month, yet for some reason, it's killing her.

Maybe she could reach out to her cousin in New Orleans and see if she's learned anything more. But later, though. She's too tired to even think now.

She barely manages to keep awake while Klaus drives them back home in relative silence.

The steaming hot shower that Caroline takes after she gets home, and laying in bed with Klaus wrapped around her all night wasn't enough to stave off the cold that she catches. She was stuffy and tired the next day, having Klaus dote on her despite barely speaking with him, and then coughing all night. Rebekah saw to her when she didn't have the strength to keep pushing Klaus away. Despite him spending all day trying to explain to her why - which she understood, she just couldn't acknowledge - and doting after her to somehow make up for it, she just didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say to him.

She couldn't tell him that it was okay, and she wasn't sure if she should say whether she forgave him or not. It didn't feel right. All she could think about was her friend being hurt - dying - because of her, even if he came back due to Klaus' and Elena's blood.

Rebekah spoke to her too. Told her again why they did it. Explained why they felt like they had to. That they loved her and did what they did because of their love for her.

She is humbled by their love for her because despite how she feels about the situation, she is thankful that they are both still there for her. She knows that she is thankful to have them and while she is mad at them for what they did, that evil little voice in the back of her head wants to forgive them because she loves them too. She hated what they did because of her, but she didn't hate them.

She wanted to. Her life would be so much easier if she could just hate Klaus. But no, she doesn't. She knows that sooner, rather than later, she would speak to him again. But a part of her knows that she needs to talk to him. She needs to explain to him why this is so wrong, but she can't find the words when she looks at him because all she can see is her friends suffering, is Tyler dead.

"My brother loves you," Rebekah says softly, handing her a glass of water to drink.

She does before passing it back to the older woman to place onto the night table next to her bed. "I know," Caroline says softly, rubbing at her face as she struggles to breathe. "I know because he told me. That doesn't... it doesn't... justify what he did. What either of you did."

Rebekah sucks in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She looks out the window to the darkness beyond for a long moment, before turning slowly to look back over at Caroline. "My brother loves you, Caroline, and take it from me, we all do strange things for those we love. My brother is no exception. In fact, if nothing else, he's probably the worst amongst us. But he does love you, Caroline. More than I have ever seen my brother love another outside of our family."

Caroline sinks into her bed a bit, feeling a fresh wave of heat wash over her.

She doesn't know what to say to that. She obviously didn't know of Klaus before she met him, but she does know how he is when she isn't around. At least somewhat. She knew that he wasn't the same kind, gentle man with others that he was with her. She knew that he could be cruel and unforgiving to others because not only did he have the power to do it, but he also cared so little for what they wanted that it didn't matter.

Caroline knows this. Knows that Klaus really just does what he wants with little to no regard for what anyone else would want, but it's hard to know that some of these bad things are being down on her behalf. She never ever would have wanted anyone to be hurt on her behalf. The reality of what happened to Tyler is hanging over the top of her head, and she feels terrible for it.

"I love him too, Rebekah..." Caroline says softly, rubbing at her face slowly, before locking her eyes with the older woman's. "I've been fighting myself with trying to explain it away to myself. I don't want to be in love with him. I'm terrified of being in love with him, but I fear that I might be unable to fight it."

Rebekah looks at her with blatant understanding written across her face that is a relief to Caroline on so many levels.

"I understand," Rebekah says softly. "Nevermind your own issues with trust and emotion confinement, but my brother..." she sighs, rubbing at her forehead. "Nik makes it hard, sometimes, to love him. He does cruel, unforgivable things... and then I forgive him against my better judgment. But I suppose that's love for you. Even having lived a thousand years still the complexities of love allude me."

Caroline turns slowly onto her side, struggling to breathe but not having the strength to turn around again. "I'm scared to love him, Rebekah..." Caroline whispers softly. "I've never loved anyone like I love him... and he really isn't that great of a guy."

Rebekah's lips quirk a bit in a mirthful smile. "Not to others, no. But he is to you, isn't he?"

Caroline nods, coughing a bit. "Yeah. He's wonderful to me. It's just hard that he isn't so wonderful to everyone else."

"Is that a deal breaker?" Rebekah asks softly, reaching out to lightly caress Caroline's face before just running her fingers through the long blond strands. "Is it impossible to be with him because of that? Keep in mind, love, while he is my brother and I do love him, I also know what a pain he is. You aren't wrong in walking away from him."

"I think it's too late," Caroline says, closing her eyes, too tired to keep it open any longer. "I think it's too late for me to run away from him."

Rebekah doesn't respond to that, just continuing to pet down her long blond hair as she slips into slumber. It feels like she was only asleep for a moment before her mind pulls a bit into consciousness just enough to realize that she was resting on Klaus's chest as he talks softly to Rebekah. Her stuffy nose can't pluck his beautiful scent from the fog in her brain but his warmth feels so wonderful. She curls closer to him, not wanting to separate from that warmth. She was mad at him and knew that they really needed to talk.

But she also found comfort in just him being there.

"Werewolves shouldn't be getting sick like this, Rebekah," Klaus says softly, kissing her forehead while rubbing her back, while trying to pull her closer.

"I thought that was unusual," Rebekah comments slowly, "but then again it seems like everything about Caroline is unusual."

There is a long silence before Klaus says, so softly that she barely heard him, "It's killing her, Rebekah. I'm convinced now more than ever before. Somehting has to change. Of that, I am certain."

Rebekah doesn't respond for a moment, considering, before she says, "You're right. Elijah has gone in search of a contact in the Stryx that hopefully has some answers, so hopefully he'll have news within the next day or two."

Klaus pulls her closer still and she starts to slip back into slumber once more.

Werewolf vitality kicks in a few days late, but by the time she woke up in the morning, she was ready to take on the world. She showered for a really long time, then changed into some really comfortable shorts and graphic t-shirt before bouncing downstairs to wolf down three bowls of cereal in time for Klaus and Rebekah to emerge from their separate corners of the house.

"Good morning," Caroline says through a mouthful of cereal, offering a little bit of a wave. Admittedly, she didn't feel all that great. She felt sluggish and weak and tired, but she was no longer stuffy or sickly, so in her own way that's about a thousand percent better than where she was yesterday. Even if she wasn't back to completely normal just yet, she is willing to accept this for now.

Rebekah come over and sits down next to Caroline. "Good morning, love," she says, resting her chin onto her fist, looking at Caroline. "How do you feel? You're definitely more lively now than you've been the last few days."

"I feel a lot better," Caroline says, forcing herself to stop eating, knowing her stomach is going to be hurting really bad later for all of this. "Man, I honestly can't remember the last time I felt sick like that."

Rebekah smiles lightly at her. "I understand."

Caroline looks over at Klaus, who was standing in the doorway, one hand holding the wrist of the other in front of him. His blue eyes watch her carefully, looking concerned enough to twist his pretty features.

Caroline spares Rebekah a look, knowing that she needs to talk to Klaus. Rebekah nods a bit, understanding without words, as Caroline stands up and makes her way over to the Hybrid, grabbing onto his hand and leading him out of the kitchen and into one of the sitting rooms. She sits down on the couch, pulling him down next to her.

"I'm sorry," Caroline says, turning to look at Klaus. "I could have handled everything a little bit better than I did, but I need you to understand how unhappy I was by what you did."

Klaus sighs, looking down at their hands, as he wraps his around her own. "I know. Elijah gave me an earful. I understand that it wasn't what you wanted, or how you would have wanted to go about it, Caroline, but understand that I did it for you."

Caroline looks down at their hands, frowning deeply. "Trust me, I understand that well."

Klaus sighs again, gripping her hands tighter. "I knew it was going to work. It all made perfect sense. I know I shouldn't have done it to your friend, and I am sorry for that, but I just wanted to make sure that I got to keep you with me for as long as possible. It was bad, Caroline. I just want you to be okay. Perhaps it wasn't the right way of going about it, but there isn't anything I can do about it now."

As true as that was, it is annoying to hear him say it like that. Caroline gives him a look that he at least has the decency to look like he feels at least a little bad for what he did.

"You can apologize," Caroline advises, watching as it looks like he's about to protest. She squeezes his hand to make him stop before he can say anything. "Not that I'm sure that will do anything, but at least make a conscious effort. You did scare the pants off of them and you killed Tyler. The least you can do is apologize."

Klaus stares at her for a long moment before sighing again. "Very well, Caroline. I'll give them some time to calm down and then I will go and apologize to Elena and her friends."

"How about I go with you?" Caroline offers sternly. It wasn't really an offer though. She's not sure she can trust him going by himself and not causing a bigger problem than the one they already have. No, she's going to go with. Help smooth things over if she can. She knows she shouldn't have to, but she feels like she needs to talk to Tyler and apologize to him especially. Elena and the rest of her friend may have been hurt and scared of Klaus, but Tyler actually died. He lost his life, all because of Klaus's actions on Caroline's behalf. She has to apologize for the part she played in it, no matter how minute.

Hopefully, in time, her friends can come to forgive her. They can forgive her and Klaus, and they can all move on and put all these terrible things behind them.

"Mr. Mikaelson?"

Elijah turns slowly to look at the well dressed man in front of him. His face is stoic and guarded, but there is a tension to him. He knows who he's standing in front of and is rightfully wary and afraid. He swallows slightly before nodding, more to assure himself than any real gesture toward Elijah. "Athena will see you now."

Elijah nods, following after the man through a long series of halls filled with carved marble statues and paintings of the greek gods and goddess, some he could name off the bat with a single glance, and others he glanced at the carved stone pillars next to them to recall their name. Big, small, famous, obscure. This place really transported Elijah across the world to a prominent museum in Greece with its architecture and interior design while not having actually left the United States. And honestly, he's impressed, but then again, this is Athena he's come to see.

The man leads the Original into a large sitting room filled with throw pillows and blankets of reds, purples and golds. There is a benchseat circling the room at at the far side, drinking leisurely from a wineglass is none other than the greek goddess in the flesh. Beautiful Athena. Beautiful dark brown hair, darker eyes and soft dark skin that stands out against the crisp white of her dress.

She sits high on a throne of pillows that looks like it could be the throne of Olympus and when her eyes meet his, she smiles with her lips painted red, making her look like the goddess she is named after. At least, to Elijah, if he had to wonder what a true goddess looked like, he would guess a lot like the woman in front of him.

"Hello, Athena," Elijah says cordially, walking into the room and kissing her hand when she offers it to him.

"Elijah Mikaelson," Athena hums before sipping at her red wine and glancing at spot next to her on the bench. She waves her fingers slightly and the man leaves the room without delay, no doubt relieved to be freed of the expectation when dealing with a Mikaelson. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"I am in need of your help, Athena," Elijah says, unbuttoning his suit to sit down more comfortably next to the greek woman.

She gives him a sideways look. "Very well. What can I help you with?"

"Niklaus has befriended a werewolf that is having some issues I was hoping you would be able to help out with."

Athena stares back at him for a long moment. "Are we no longer fighting with Klaus?"

Elijah smiles thinly. "In a manner of speaking, yes. My brother has been on his best behavior since I've joined back up with him." He thinks about Elena Gilbert and her friends, and no doubt the mayhem his siblings have caused. "At least, mostly."

Athena's perfectly sculpted eyebrows tick up toward her hairline. "I see," She says. She stares back at Elijah for a quick moment, as if able to read his mind. "So, this werewolf must be good for your brother. Who is he?"

"Her name is Caroline. Caroline Forbes."

Athena smiles suddenly. "Don't tell me your little brother is smitten, Elijah."

Elijah laughs, feeling himself relax a bit. "Oh, he's smitten, Athena. You wouldn't believe your eyes."

"I bet not," Athena admits, swooshing the contents of her wineglass around for a moment in careful contemplation. "So what is wrong with this mysterious werewolf girl? Aside from the fact that she can tame that wild brother of yours."

"If only," Elijah murmurs to himself, wishing that were true. "She is... unlike any werewolf I've ever met. She activated her curse as a young girl, before she was ten years old. Her demeanor is not aggressive in the slightest and she is able to shift outside of the full moon. At least partially."

Athena's eyebrows tick again. "Well, I've been hearing stories that werewolves the closer they are to the full moon, the more that have shown the ability to do a partial transformation. Eyes and claws sometimes, from what I hear."

Elijah looks interested. "I hadn't heard that before."

"Not at lot, that I know of," Athena admits, "but I hear that it has been cropping up in packs in the area. Especially in the last few years. Werewolves believe that they are getting stronger." She shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not sure how or why, but within the last ten years, the werewolves have been growing... agitated? I'm not sure. It's interesting. As for the lack of aggression, well, as unusual as that is for a werewolf, temperament still belongs to the person. Perhaps simply by nature she is more tempered than your average wolf. I'm not an absolute expert but that doesn't seem too odd to me."

Elijah considers her words carefully, able to easily agree with her. "There is a few other things."

Athena takes a sip of her wine. "Go on."

"Her mother by blood is a police officer, and in the line of duty, has had to kill before and never triggered the curse. However, her sister by blood, has, as did Caroline. And not only that, but... leading up to the full moon sometimes she goes through these terrible... events..." Elijah hesitates, not sure how to explain what happens. "Her bones break across her whole body before sealing back together only to break again. For hours on end. Not on the night of the full moon, but within a few weeks of it."

Athena stares at him for a long moment, digesting that information before looking down at her glass of wine, lowering it to her lap. "That is quite unusual..." she says softly. Her eyebrows pulling together tightly, her mind working through something troublesome.

"And after the night of the full moon she will be trapped in her bed, so physically exhausted that she isn't able to leave for at least two or three days afterward, which is not normal as far as I know," Elijah says slowly, watching the darker skinned woman's face get more and more troubled. "Have you ever heard of anything like this before?"

Athena looks around the room, trying to work something out in her mind before looking over at Elijah, her face set in worry and concentration. "I need to see this werewolf, Elijah. Take me to her."


	14. The Blue Spirit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hello my loves! I am on a Vampire Diaries kick right now, so I'm working my way through these stories again! I am so sorry that it is all just contingent on my feelings but I never truly lost interest in these stories. I am super excited as we are drawing closer to the scene I originally imagined that made this story come to life. It'll probably be in the next chapter or two, I think! But I am so super excited about it! Thank you all so much for your support! I hope that you all continue to enjoy this story!

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline sighs at Elena's crisp response to meeting up so that they can apologize to everyone. She's not surprised, to be honest, she wouldn't want to interact with the person who attacked her and her friends, turning one of them unwillingly into a hybrid, but that doesn't mean she's not upset by it. She hates that things have been so bad. She kind of hates Klaus right now and if she could, she would have throttled him.

She spent the following days lazing around on the couch, trying hard to build up her strength to go about her normal life. She spent some time really listening to Klaus and Rebekah as they tried to explain why they did what they did. And it all came down to her. They did it for her. Klaus was terrified when she wouldn't wake up that she wouldn't again. He riled Rebekah up with his mania over her being unresponsive and so the two of them ran to the high school to ambush Elena and her friends.

Neither would admit to feeling bad about it, seeing as it ended up working out - both Caroline waking up and Klaus finally being able to make his first hybrid in Tyler Lockwood. Sure, Elena, Matt, and Bonnie were a little freaked out while Damon had a sore neck and Stefan was manhandled a bit, but Tyler came out better than before. He was stronger than any other single species, vampire or werewolf.

"He's very welcome for the gift," Klaus had boasted again. He wilted under the glare she sent his way.

Once they reached the two-week mark since the night at the school gym, Caroline finally had enough of everyone dodging her and went to corner Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, and Damon at the Salvatore Mansion. As unfair as it is, Caroline reached out to Tyler, asking him to get them all together. She promised to sit down and talk with him privately, but she wanted to get them all together for a minute so that she could apologize to everyone, then she would pull him aside for later.

Thankfully, Tyler agreed.

Caroline waited until Klaus and Rebekah were busy talking on the phone with Elijah to sneak out so that she could go and meet them without the Original Siblings - who she loves - hovering and intimidating Elena and her friends. She knows Klaus is going to be mad at her for just sneaking out without saying anything, but she had to do this.

Klaus had to apologize too, that much Caroline knew for certain, but she also knew that she was definitely the more delicate of the two. They could yell and scream at her and she would be able to take it without losing her temper, not like a certain someone she knows. Not that she wouldn't deserve any of it. But at least once they are done yelling at her for being the reason for the terrible act, then she can bring Klaus in to actually apologize for doing the terrible act.

Caroline discreetly steals the keys to one of the cars that Klaus has been letting her borrow - she suspects that it's now hers seeing as she helped pick it out thinking it was for him with a lot of "oh, I really like that color and those features" but no one ever really said it was hers, so she's stealing it until she knows otherwise. He'll forgive her. It's the leaving without telling him that he's not going to forgive.

Once Caroline makes it to the Salvatore's mansion after having gotten the address from Tyler and learning that it wasn't too far away, she finds said new hybrid waiting for her outside. He looks good in blue jeans and a simple white t-shirt. He looks strong and healthy. He even cracks a little smile when Caroline exits the car and walks up to him.

"Hi Tyler," Caroline says softly, forcing herself not to pull away from his eyes.

"Hi Caroline," Tyler says, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Are you okay? You kind of look like hell."

"Thanks for that, and for helping me meet up with everyone..." she says slowly, then forces herself to swallow her worry. She has to do this. It's only right for her to acknowledge her part in all of this. She was going to pull Tyler aside later and talk to him, but maybe talking to him first is a better idea. He was the one more affected by this than any of the rest of them.

"It's not a problem," Tyler says easily, staring at her face, watching her expressions. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Listen, Tyler," Caroline says, sucking in a deep breath, not interested in talking about herself at all, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about what happened. Klaus was worried about me. He thought after the full moon that I wasn't going to wake up anymore. Look, I know as far as excuses go, it's both a terrible one and unwarranted, but I'm really sorry about what he did to you, especially because he did it for me."

Tyler nods slowly, sucking in his own deep breath, looking at the air around their heads for a moment to collect his thoughts before looking back into Caroline's eyes. "Okay."

Perplexed, Caroline echoes, "Okay?"

Tyler nods, more assuredly this time. "Yep. Okay. I hear your apology and I accept it."

Caroline blinks a few times, knowing that it certainly couldn't have been that easy. "You do?"

"Sure, I was mad at first. I mean, he killed me, Care. On a maybe. I know he said that he was certain it was going to work, but he wasn't really and yeah, I was pissed about that. But then I got to thinking about it. He really did set me free, in a weird sort of way. No longer am I a slave to the full moon. I don't ever have to shift again if I don't want to," Tyler says, a smile working its way across his face. "I am so thankful for that. As I'm sure you know, the shift at the full moon is the worst kind of pain imaginable."

Well, to be honest, Caroline didn't mind the shift. Yes, it hurt. Yeah, it sucked, and really, she would rather not. But at the same time, she didn't hate it. It almost felt right. Like morphing into her real skin. She knows that she shouldn't be let loose when she couldn't control her wolf so she tempers her time as a wolf, but she did always love being a wolf. And besides that, comparatively, when her bones break the pre-full moon that definitely hurts a lot more than when she shifts one the full moon.

But it didn't really matter at this point, so she'll just nod and agree with him. At least she is okay with him being happy. It doesn't mean she doesn't still feel bad, but it's good to know that at least he isn't suffering terribly for it. That might just help her sleep at night. For a little bit, she supposed.

"Well, I'm glad that you don't have to shift any more," Caroline says carefully. "But I am still sorry about the part I played in it."

Tyler nods his head slowly. "I accept your apology. Despite what I said about being pissed, I was never angry at you, Caroline. I heard what you said to Elena, and you're right. It isn't your place to apologize on Klaus's behalf. Just because we care about someone doesn't mean we are responsible for them. I get it. Thank you for apologizing because it was done on your behalf, but as I said, I'm happier now."

"I'm... happy to hear that," Caroline admits. She tries not to fool herself, though. Just because Tyler was easy to apologize to doesn't mean everyone else is going to make it easy.

Tyler offers a loose smile. "They're mad, we all kind of were, but it's impressive that you're willing to apologize."

Caroline shakes her head. "I don't think so. It's only right. But thank you for saying that. And for helping me corner everyone."

Tyler lets out an easy laugh, shrugging his shoulders. "It'll be fine. They'll be fine."

Caroline follows Tyler into the Salvatore mansion. Caroline can only take a brief moment to look around in awe at the beautiful home decor, the house that Klaus bought for her was nice, but everything about it was brand new and fresh. The house itself wasn't even all that old. Not like Stefan and Damon's home. There is a lot of history here.

"What's blondie doing here?" Damon asks as they step into the living room with everyone gathered around.

Damon was standing by the fireplace, lips half wrapped around a glass of bourbon. Elena, with her arms wrapped around herself, and Stefan with a hand on her shoulder stood a few feet off to the side. Even Matt was there, sitting on one of the couches next to Bonnie. They all turned to look at her and Tyler as they walked into the room. Caroline knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but she never did like being the center of attention. Mimicking Elena, she wraps her arms around herself and forces her shoulders back. No matter how much she wanted to make herself small and disappear into the ground she wasn't going to let herself do that. She was here for a reason.

She was going to apologize and if they didn't forgive her, well, there was nothing really that she could do.

"Down, Damon," Tyler says, crossing his arms over his chest and spreading his legs into a wide stance. "I invited Caroline here. She wants to talk to you guys and everyone's been avoiding her."

"That's not true..." Bonnie says slowly.

"Sure it is," Damon says, pretty blue eyes widening. "It's her fault that Elena's blood is now part of a supply and demand."

Elena casts him an unappreciated look. She was definitely no more a fan of that than Caroline was. Stefan sighs, rubbing at his forehead. "Damon, that wasn't Caroline's fault. Klaus went after her long before Caroline came around."

"He killed Lockwood for her!" Damon exclaimed, eyebrows pulling together. "Or was I the only one who was listening?"

"No, what he's saying is, before me there was Katherine," Elena says, reaching up to tuck loose strands of her long, straight dark brown hair behind her ear before turning beautiful brown eyes toward Caroline. Her smile is small and thin. "Hi, Caroline."

"Elena, I'm so sorry," Caroline says, not daring to walk into the room. "I know that apologizing doesn't do anything, especially since I can't apologize for Klaus or what he did, but I am so sorry about my part in this. Klaus was desperate. I know that it doesn't excuse him not only hurting some of you, killing one of you, and scaring all of you, but I can't change that."

"No one is asking you to do that," Bonnie says, standing up. "We were all a little freaked out, Caroline. But you aren't responsible for Klaus. He's old enough that he should be held completely responsible for his own actions. We don't get to decide what others do on our behalf," she says sagely, walking up to Caroline and placing a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry that I haven't reached out. There is no need for you to apologize."

"Bonnie's right," Stefan says. "We had problems with Klaus long before you showed up. Don't listen to Damon. He's just mad because while there is nothing we can really do about Klaus and Rebekah, he can take his anger out on you. Don't let him get to you."

Damon flashes two rows of pearly white teeth, very threateningly, making Caroline's skin crawl in fear. "Yeah, who knows what I'll do to you."

"Knock it off, Damon," Matt snaps, glaring at the older vampire brother. His pretty blue eyes glare back into Damon's own pretty blue eyes. Damon's smile back at him is chilling.

Caroline looks at him, narrowing her eyes. Normally, at any other time, Caroline would be terrified of Damon. He's a vampire - how old? She has no idea - and no doubt stronger than her. And if she could, Caroline would find every way around any sort of conflict with the "live and let live" mentality. Caroline isn't really a fighter. She knows how to fight - sort of - but it was all stuff Rodney taught her. Cassie a bit too. Scrapper werewolf fighting, definitely nothing official. Or refined in any sense of the world.

But she's too tired, too upset, too wound up to just accept a blatant threat like that without saying anything.

"Watch yourself, Damon," Caroline growls, feeling the moonlight trickle into her skin as once more they are slowly working their way back to the full moon. It's still a few weeks off, but that doesn't mean she can't tap into its power, at least a little bit. And from talking with Tyler, apparently, the Mystic Falls gang hasn't had a whole lot of run-ins with werewolves. Only a handful of them, to be honest.

Her eyes transform until they are glowing bright golden, feeling the pull of exhaustion as the threads of her remaining energy - something she can't exactly afford to lose - is pulled from her. At least Damon looks a mixture of shocked and concerned with only the widening of his eyes and his lips pressing together tightly.

"One small bite from a werewolf is enough to kill a vampire, no matter how old you are."

"Hang on, Caroline," Stefan says diplomatically, stepping between the two of them. "I'm not going to let him do anything. He's just a lot of talk, I promise."

"You'd best hope so," Klaus says from somewhere behind her. Caroline twists around to see Klaus standing in the doorway to the house, kept outside by the magic around the house. He wasn't like Rebekah, who Elena - who owns the deed to the house for some reason that Caroline doesn't know - ultimately allowed it. Rebekah was invited in, Klaus was not. "I'd hate to have to rip his throat out so soon after I promised Caroline I would be on my best behavior."

Rebekah steps up next to her, crossing her arms over her chest as she glares beautiful blue eyes around the room, clicking her tongue distastefully at Elena before moving on. "I won't hate it, and I didn't promise anything," Rebekah says, narrowing her eyes. She does spare a moment to grin wickedly back at her older brother, rubbing it in that she can be part of the conversation while he's stuck outside.

Caroline opens her mouth, about to tell them that obviously now wasn't the time to work through their problems, even though Caroline was kind of the aggressor first on their side against Damon, but before even a sound could exit her lips, Rebekah flashes across the room at Damon, tossing Stefan out of the way almost effortlessly before hoisting the older Salvatore brother up into the air by his throat.

"Now, the lady came to make peace," Rebekah sneers, her full upper lip curling in anger and annoyance, "I think you should be a little nicer, don't you?"

"Rebekah, stop," Caroline says, pulling her eyes away from the banished hybrid to make her way over Damon and Rebekah. "I came here to apologize, not start a brawl." She looks up at Damon, honestly impressed that Rebekah was able to heft a full-grown man over her head like that. Vampire strength is amazing.

"Trust me, love," Rebekah says chillingly, "killing Damon Salvatore would be the same as nothing of value being lost. Nothing at all."

"Rebekah, stop!" Elena calls from Rebekah's other side.

"Rebekah, please," Stefan says, coming up behind Caroline with his hands out in surrender. "Damon didn't mean anything. I swear."

The Original sister lets out a sigh, rolling her eyes. "I'm not a fool, Stefan. I know Damon is dangerous and I'm not going to let him hurt Caroline."

"No one is going to hurt me," Caroline says, placing a hand on Rebekah's arm. "I'm going to be fine." She looks over at Klaus, who was just standing where she left him with an annoying smile on his face, obviously amused by all of this. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Klaus says easily. "Snap his neck like a twig, dear sister."

Rebekah grins playfully at the notion.

"Rebekah! Klaus!" Caroline chastizes. She knows it's not supposed to be able to kill a vampire, but this isn't exactly going to endear them to any of Caroline's friends if they go around breaking people's necks. Not that Caroline is so completely against it being Damon's, but he's her mom's friend. She's got to at least try and be nice, even if she's not his biggest fan. She's not obligated to like everyone.

"Alright, Rebekah, let the poor man down," Klaus says, amused. He waves his hand around a bit and Rebekah rolls her eyes.

"Fine," she says, disappointed, then drops Damon onto the floor.

"Glad to see the two of you are having fun..." Elijah says, chidingly, walking into the room behind Caroline. Klaus looks after him, still trapped outside with an indignant look on his face, obviously appalled at being the only Original forced to remain banished. There is a beautiful dark-skinned woman attached to Elijah's arm wearing a white romper with a large silver locket a little larger than a half dollar around her neck. Something about it... Caroline can't place it but doesn't have a lot of time to look at it. She's too enraptured by the beautiful woman in front of her.

"Hello, baby werewolf," the woman says carefully, staring at Caroline. She extracts herself from Elijah's arm stepping forward only to pause and look at Tyler standing next to her. She gives him a once over. "Oh, two baby werewolves." She reaches out and touches his arm, and Tyler, like Caroline, looks too intimidated to be put-off with the term, "baby". She blinks a few times, pulling her hand away slowly, contemplatively. "I'm sorry. Baby hybrid, I mean."

"Uhh..." Tyler draws out, eyes wide staring after her as she turns from him.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Rebekah asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah," Damon wheezes, climbing to his feet. "Who are you? When did our house become the place for all the supernatural in Mystic Falls to gather?" He gives a look at Stefan who sends him one back.

"Sorry about showing up unannounced, everyone, but I'm afraid this can't wait," Elijah says, straightening out his suit.

The woman walks toward Caroline, studying the young werewolf carefully. She says, softly, "I am Athena. Elijah asked me for help..." She stops right in front of Caroline. "He was telling me all about you on the way here. He told me that you've been having some problems. I... came to see you for myself to test a theory. I'm not sure if I was hoping to be right... or wrong."

Caroline's eyebrows pull together, turning completely to face the beautiful woman in front of her. "Elijah asked you to come to see me?"

The woman, Athena, nods slowly, her eyebrows pulling together slowly. "Oh dear," she says, reaching out to cup Caroline's face. It was strange, having this unknown woman holding onto her face, but then she felt something weird. A tingling across her body that started from her cheeks, down her neck, across her chest and back, all the way down to her fingertips and toes.

Then that feeling washes over her. She feels a partial transformation wash over her. She can feel it in her eyes, but there is something different about it. In the depths of Athena's dark eyes as her lips move, speaking words in a language that the young werewolf doesn't understand, Caroline sees a spark of blue in them. Suddenly, a searing pain shoots through Caroline's body. She chokes out a scream before collapsing onto the ground. It starts in waves up and down her body before that familiar feeling washes over her.

Caroline feels hands grab at her, hearing Klaus call out her name from just outside the house. She can feel shivers run up her body before the first bone breaks. Snapping and cracking in and out of place. She curls up into a ball. Yes, it is definitely getting worse. This is the worst one she's ever gone through. It's multiple bones all breaking at once before sealing back in place. It hurt so much worse than the last time, Caroline is sobbing.

"Klaus, Klaus, Klaus," Caroline can hear herself crying despite everyone around her talking to her, or to each other over her.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Elena's voice pierces the painful haze around Caroline's head. "What is going on?"

"What did you do to her?" Rebekah snaps, no doubt to Athena.

"She's worse off than I thought..." Athena says softly. "Oh, sweet girl. I am so sorry."

"Klaus, Klaus, Klaus..." Caroline sobs, her shoulder snapping back into place, through watery eyes, she peers at Klaus, or what she thinks is Klaus, through blurry images of Bonnie and Tyler.

"Silence!" Klaus snarls so loud, the room falls silent, even Caroline's sobbing quiets down. "Shh, love. Shh. It's okay. Just breathe."

Caroline moans in pain as all the toes on her left foot break before sealing back into place once more. "It hurts, Klaus. Oh my god, this hurts."

Athena appears in her vision, kneeling down in front of Caroline and resting a hand on her head. "I didn't know that this would happen, dear. I'm sorry. You've progressed so far along."

"What are you talking about?" Rebekah snaps.

Caroline screams as her rips crack and break in rapid succession, all up and down her torso. She knows he can't do anything to really physically help her, but she always felt better just having him there with her. And it's torture that he's so close yet she can't touch him. She knows he can't help her, but it always made her feel better to think of him, and having him with her last time was enough to really alleviate a lot of the anxiety that this brings her.

She must have been begging for him because Elena cuts in with, "Oh my god, Klaus, come in!"

And then he was there, his arms wrapping around her, pulling him up to her chest. He brings her onto his lap, holding onto her tight to help stop her bones from breaking so violently. Once again, the ones in the main body can only crack and splinter a bit but are mostly in place, which is only a bit more bearable. She curls up as close to him as possible. Even though she can barely breathe, she gets the faintest taste of that sweet smell that is always coming off of him. She curls into his chest as much as she can.

With him by her side, she can deal with all the pain.

"What did you do to her, Athena?" Klaus growls, holding Caroline close. With him there, she's able to choke down her cries. It becomes just a bit more bearable.

"I didn't do anything, Klaus," Athena says softly. "I tried to draw out her magic, which unfortunately had a very bad reaction. Klaus, your girl is hemorrhaging magic because of how unstable she is. She has been for a long time. Her body isn't preparing for a full moon, it thinks it's in the middle of one, but without the assistance of a full moon to help her through the rest of the transformation, she's stopping before completely becoming a wolf."

"But why is that happening?" Elijah asks. "Is there anything we can do to help her?"

There is a long silence before Athena presses her hands onto Caroline's forehead and eyes, murmuring something in a language Caroline doesn't know and the pain slowly starts to ebb away until it's just a painful crawling of the skin that she'll definitely take over the breaking of her bones over and over again. As the pain eased, so did the tension in her body until she's sagging against Klaus, otherwise unmoving.

"Bloody hell, why didn't you do that ten minutes ago?" Rebekah snaps.

"I didn't fix the problem," Athena says slowly, "only slowed it down. But I'm afraid that's all I can do."

"What's wrong with her?" Bonnie asks, at the same time Matt asks, "Is she going to be okay?"

Athena comes in clearer as Caroline finally blinks the tears from her eyes, feeling completely exhausted and in pain. "No, dears, unfortunately, she isn't going to be okay."

Klaus growls out through gritted teeth, "Explain."

"Those eyes proved it..." Athena says slowly. "She's the Blue Spirit."

"What the hell is the Blue Spirit?" Damon asks, grabbing himself a drink on the other side of the room.

"It's nature's loophole," Athena says, her voice holding the hint of awe to it. "One of its ultimate fail-safes. It is one of the oldest beings on the planet. Its existence stretches back to ancient times."

"So, Klaus's childhood?" Damon quips, which no one approves of.

"Far older than that," Athena says, not missing a beat. "The Blue Spirit is nature's way of controlling magic. It took many forms for many, many years, but within the last thousand, it's taken the form of a werewolf."

"I don't understand," Elena admits, and even though Rebekah rolls her eyes, Caroline kind of doubts that she understands any better. "Caroline is an ancient spirit? But we grew up with her. That doesn't make any sense."

"Caroline isn't the ancient spirit. It dwells within her. Her body is it's newest vessel. It's traveled through time with many vessels, most of which don't realize what they are for the entirety of their lives. One of the drawbacks of being a werewolf. First, the curse must be triggered, then the spirit must be awakened," Athena says, finally pulling her hands away from Caroline's face. "Unfortunately, the power has been steadily breaking Caroline's body down over the many years that she's been triggered."

"Well, great, how do we release the spirit then and fix this?" Klaus asks.

"Before that," Stefan cuts in, ignoring the glare that Klaus sends his way, "what does this Blue Spirit do? You said it was nature's loophole, but what does that mean?"

Athena gives him a sideways glance. "It keeps the balance. When nature is out of balance, the Blue Spirit is there to put it back into balance."

"Okay," Stefan says slowly, "but how does it do that?"

"Apparently the power that the Blue Spirit holds can eliminate all magic," Athena says slowly. "I'm not sure how it manifests itself, but its purpose is to destroy things that actively go against the balance of nature."

"Meaning," Stefan says slowly, "if the Blue Spirit would awaken... it would kill us."

The room falls silent for a long moment, no one knowing what to say.

"That can't be right," Bonnie says. "Magic has existed for as long as memory serves. She wouldn't be going around killing everyone!"

"No, Bon," Tyler says slowly, "Stefan means vampires. They are unnatural. If what Athena is saying is true, she's going to hunt down vampires." Bonnie and Elena stare at each other with wide eyes before looking down at the bleary-eyed Caroline, who's struggling to follow along. Does she have some sort of spirit inside of her? And it wants to kill vampires? Vampires like Stefan and Damon? Vampires like Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah?"

"My suspicions were correct, when things started cropping up about the werewolves," Athena says slowly. "The Blue Spirit can use werewolves to help increase its potency. A werewolf bite can already kill a vampire. It would make sense that the werewolves' history stretches back a bit further than vampires do. Unfortunately, the Blue Spirit hasn't awakened in over a thousand years. None of its hosts ever made it that far. At least not as far as I know."

"If it's all-powerful, why is there still supernaturals to this day, huh?" Damon asks, blue eyes wide like he caught her in a lie.

Athena stares back at him with level brown eyes. "The Blue Spirit is still bound by nature and it's laws. It's not immortal. It lives a full lifespan of whatever being it inhabits, and must be reborn again through a specific set of circumstances. From what I've read, the Blue Spirit awakens, roams the Earth for about a hundred years, restoring balance, before it's host dies and the cycle continues."

"So, what does this have to do with Caroline? Is she part of its bloodline or something?" Elena asks.

"I doubt it," Athena admits. "I don't believe it follows a bloodline, just a race. It's chosen form is that of a werewolf, so it follows werewolf bloodlines, appearing in random ones when they are born."

"What if they never trigger their curse?" Tyler asks as Caroline sits up a bit, exhausted and hurt, but finally starting to pull herself together enough to follow along.

Athena shrugs. "From what I understand, a host can live their entire lives without knowing they are the Blue Spirit, just like a werewolf never triggering the curse. But the signs throughout the years from the witches that have been tracking the Blue Spirit know what signs to look for when it appears in a new host. It absorbs an extreme amount of magic from someone close to them, negating the werewolf curse when they are born."

Caroline's eyes widen. "My mom. She's part of the werewolf bloodline, but she's never triggered her curse..."

Athena nods. "And when I heard that Elijah was originally looking for a lone werewolf a... Cassandra Claire, I was curious and looked into it, but she's not overly important. I used my contacts to help me trace back her linneage seeing as Claire isn't a werewolf clan, and she had ancestors in the Crescent clan, but that was well over two hundred years ago. Some of my contacts in the Strix informed e that they were also looking for Cassandra Claire but wouldn't say why. But then when he came to see me, inquiring about strange things occuring with a girl who had weird werewolf abilities and a mother who didn't transform after having killed people in the line of duty, I knew they were connected."

Caroline nods slowly, rasping, her heart pounding as things are slowly starting to make sense, "Cassandra Claire is my aunt."

Athena presses bright red lips together tightly, looking over at Elijah, "Which would explain why your Strix are looking for her."

"And that is?" Rebekah asks, still perplexed.

Elijah rubs at his face. "Because they think Cassandra Claire is the Blue Spirit."


	15. The Full Moon

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

"My aunt ran away because... of me..?" Caroline whispers softly. She sits up a bit but doesn't pull away from Klaus. Even though she's starting to feel a little bit better now that her bones aren't breaking, she could pull away from Klaus, but she doesn't want to. She can ignore the skin-crawling tingles and the phantom ache without complaint. But the shame in her chest is far harder to ignore. So it's her fault that her aunt is on the run. Nothing really spooked her aside from a cult of ancient vampires created by an Original Vampire hunting her down for whatever reasons they are. It's all her fault.

"No, Caroline, she's probably just trying to keep you safe..." Elena says softly, reaching forward to place a hand on Caroline's knee. "Don't think of it like that. Loving someone else means you do what you have to do to keep them safe, even if we don't like it."

"My aunt is insanely paranoid about everything," Caroline says weakly, the sickening feeling still building up in her gut. She rubs at her eyes roughly, guilt weighing her down. "I'm the reason she ran away. It doesn't matter that she loved me. She's scared of the world and because of me a vampire cult is hunting for her thinking that she's something that she isn't."

"I suppose that does answer a few questions..." Klaus says softly, using his finger to rub her shoulder. She draws a lot of comforts from both the small action, as well as him just being there for her.

"What are the Strix?" Elena asks.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Ms. Gilbert," Elijah says smoothly.

Elena's eyebrows pull together, looking like she wants to protest, but Rebekah cuts her off with her own question, "Alright, so what does this mean for Caroline? I understand that she's hemorrhaging magic, but what can we do?"

Athena bites her lip, standing up slowly and smoothing out her romper in thought. She walks around the room slowly, crossing her arms over her chest before shaking her head slowly. "I think it's too late."

"Choose your next words wisely, witch," Klaus growls, hugging Caroline close to his chest as he glares at the Goddess in human form. Caroline feels panic and helplessness start building up in her chest but tries to stomp it down.

"Settle, Niklaus," Elijah says amicably before standing up and facing Athena. "Why do you say that? You don't seem too sure."

Athena turns to him, eyebrows pulling together. "The process has already begun. She's in the transition to becoming the Blue Spirit, but the rest of the conditions haven't been met. I can try and look through some of the information I have on the awakening process and see if we can complete it, barring it's not something linked to say an event we can't mimic. Or... we let her pass peacefully." Athena frowns at her own suggestion, not a fan of it.

"Or, I could turn her into a Hybrid and this stops being a problem," Klaus growls.

"I wouldn't do that, Klaus," Athena says, not even bothering to look at him when he moves his free wrist to his mouth and Stefan moves to push Elena behind himself and Damon.

"Niklaus," Elijah warns when the Hybrid glares at the older of the two witches, then he looks back at Athena, "Why not?"

"I infused a small bit of magic into her and it set the transition in motion once more," Athena says simply, turning to look at Klaus with sad eyes. "What do you think the magic in your blood is going to do to her? I'm sorry, Klaus, she'll be dead long before your blood can fully fuse into her system."

"So I'm going to die," Caroline whispers, feeling hopelessness weighing down on her like a ton of bricks. If Klaus wasn't holding her up right now, she's sure she would have sunk into the floor by now.

"No," Klaus snarls, glaring down at her, eyes flashing golden in his anger. "No, you aren't going to die. We will awaken the Blue Spirit then."

"Uh, Satan, did you forget the part where the Spirit wants to kill vampires? I'm sure that means you too," Damon snaps, glaring at the blond.

The room falls silent. For a long moment, no one knows what to say.

Finally, Rebekah says, "We are Original Vampires, we can't be killed."

"Werewolves kill vampires, my dear," Athena says calmly, turning level brown eyes toward wide blue ones. "You don't die because you are on a higher plane of vampire, but the Blue Spirit is the higher plane to werewolves. Besides, the purpose of the Blue Spirit is to bring balance to nature. From what I understand, it's ability stems from breaking magic down. Whether that means to destroy it... or unravel it, I'm not sure."

"Unravel it..?" Matt asks slowly, standing back to keep out of the way. "What does that mean?"

Bonnie's eyes widen. "Are you saying there is a chance that the Blue Spirit might be able to undo magic? Like reverse something that has happened? As in... turn a vampire into a human again?"

Athena shakes her head. "I don't know. I'm not sure how the Blue Spirit's power works. It is the ultimate loophole, so I guess that's one way of doing it. But I'm not sure. The Blue Spirit has always taken the role of a beast of some sort and hasn't awakened in an intelligent being for as long as I know. Perhaps it can, perhaps it cannot. I'm not sure. And even if it could, it may be more mission-oriented and never consider sparing the life of the supernatural being it hunts. Or maybe it simply breaks down magic in such a way that those afflicted dies horribly and painfully. I simply do not know."

"But are we willing to take the risk of awakening the Blue Spirit and it hunting all vampires in the world down for the next hundred years?" Stefan asks. At the sharp look Rebekah sends him, he presses his lips together before looking at Caroline. "Look, Care, I don't want you to die, I'm just asking the hard questions. Who's to even say that awakening the Blue Spirit will keep you with us?"

"What do you mean, Stefan?" Elena asks, wrapping her arms around herself once more.

"He's asking if Caroline will be able to coexist with the Blue Spirit," Athena says smoothly, "and that is a very good question. Unfortunately - "

"You don't know, yes, we've established that," Klaus snaps bitterly. Athena gracefully accepts his chipped response by simply nodding and closing her mouth to stare at him. Klaus looks down at Caroline and this look hardens across his face as his eyes meet her own and she knew in that moment that he wasn't going to give up. He wasn't going to just let her die.

Caroline is equal parts of thankful and terrified.

"Then we will take that risk," Klaus says, firmly, staring into Caroline's eyes. "You will live. We'll figure the rest out later. Find out how to awaken the Blue Spirit, Athena."

Athena nods. "Okay, I'll see what I can figure out."

"Wait, so we're going to just ignore the fact that every supernatural life is in danger?" Damon asks, appalled. His blue eyes are blown wide as he looks at Stefan next to him. "I mean, sure it's gonna hate vampires, but who's to say it's exclusively vampires? It could be hybrids too, and witches that work with vampires that it'll target." Damon looks between Bonnie and Tyler. Now both of them look even more concerned. "I mean, what are we supposed to do? Run for the next hundred years?"

"Katerina did so for five times that," Klaus growls, narrowing his eyes. The look Damon gives him is of rage and hatred.

"Is Caroline going to die?" Elena asks softly, her face stricken in pain and worry.

Athena nods slowly. "Yes, dear."

"How long does she have?"

Athena considers, looking down at the blond as she slumps into Klaus's arms, too weak to hold herself up anymore, before admitting, softly, "I will be surprised if she can survive another transformation."

"But those attacks are so random. How are we going to know when one will spring up?" Rebekah asks, rubbing at her forehead.

"No, Rebekah," Klaus growls, still staring into Caroline's eyes. "She means the next full moon. We only have until then to awaken the Blue Spirit."

Damon growls in frustration, turning and stomping from the room, not bothering to say anything to anyone as he goes. Stefan looks after him with furrowed brows but says nothing. And if this wasn't basically the end of her life, Caroline would have been asking Klaus to at least try and be civil, but she can't bring herself to care. It sounds like whether they awaken the Blue Spirit or not, Caroline is probably going to die anyway.

Caroline didn't get better. She stays in this perpetual state of exhaustion for the weeks that follow. As they near closer to the full moon, Caroline can feel herself preparing for the change once more, and while the werewolf part of her brain is excited about another full moon, the rational part of her brain knows that this might be her last one.

Rebekah and Klaus don't leave her alone for a minute. While Elijah and Athena are out searching for a way to awaken the Blue Spirit, the other two-thirds of the Mikaelson siblings stay by her side constantly. They help her to the bathroom, to shower, and change clothes, they lounge around on the couch with her, and at the dinner table when she can muster up the appetite. She falls asleep every night on Klaus's chest, listening to his strong heartbeat and breathing in his beautiful scent. And most nights it lulls her to sleep peacefully. Sometimes, though, she'll sit away, staring out the window while curled into his chest while he slips in and out of slumber.

And sometimes she would fall asleep for what feels like a moment and awaken with a jolt, terrified and bleary-eyed, unsure of where she was until Klaus settled her down once more. But she also loved those moments, because Klaus would reassure her that everything would be okay and she would associate that with all of her problems, praying that all of them would go away. That somehow they would be able to go back to the way things were before. Back to the way that things should have been.

Caroline let go of her anger for her mom. She decided that she didn't want to spend her time being mad, even if she was going to survive and be okay, she still wanted to just let go of as much of her anger as she could. She couldn't tell her the truth, though. She couldn't look into her mom's eyes and tell her that she was dying. Klaus wouldn't say it. He's not ready to give up and every time she thinks about it, this look crosses her face, and Klaus has since started to recognize it and would glare when he saw it.

He didn't want to give up, and he didn't want her to.

She wasn't ready to throw in the towel, but as the days went on and Elijah and Athena didn't call with anything positive to update on, Caroline felt more and more helpless. But still, she couldn't say anything to her mom. She couldn't look into the eyes of her mother and tell her that she was going to die. She honestly hated thinking about it herself, but as the day of the full moon grew closer and more threatening, Caroline feared her mortality even more.

Caroline was terrified to die. It's part of the reason that she didn't want to become a Hybrid, or at least, why she wanted to wait. The fear of falling into the blackness of death willingly... no, she couldn't do it. She has always been terrified of being alone despite spending her entire life living like that. Having met Klaus, and Elijah, and Rebekah... coming back to the town she was born in, reconnecting with her parents and meeting friends of her past...

It was an opportunity that she never thought that she would get. And now she was on the verge of losing it all.

Even if they found a way to awaken the Blue Spirit, there is no way to know if Caroline will remain herself. And that terrifies her even more. What if she becomes the Blue Spirit and simply forgets who and what she is? What if she can look into the faces of those that she's come to love and not recognize them? Hate them? Hunt them? Kill them?

Those thoughts keep her up at night. She cried one night - more than once, admittedly - in Klaus's arms, begging him not to let her hurt him. If she became the Blue Spirit and attacked them, she wanted him to stop her. She's never wanted to hurt anyone, but especially Klaus. As a werewolf, the wounds she inflicted on him, like the scratches during sex, would all go away, sometimes in just seconds. A werewolf bite won't even weaken him due to his nature as a Hybrid, but now will be different. Awakening the Blue Spirit might mean there was a way to kill an Original Vampire now.

Caroline would never forgive herself for killing someone she loves. She would fall into a blackened abyss in her mind and never come out again. If the Blue Spirit even disappears and has her realize what she's done. It might also be one of those situations where her body will be up and moving but she won't have any control over it. Like mind control or sleep paralysis, except her body hates the man he loves, his family, and his race - both Vampires and Hybrids, probably. Caroline can imagine being locked into her body, screaming in a never-ending loop of chaos and fear, helplessly watching as her world burns around her. As her body kills people without her consent.

Caroline doesn't want to die, she's terrified to die. But she doesn't want to live like that either. To live forever trapped in her own body like a coffin. Staring out at her life as her body moved about hunting and killing vampires, witches, and werewolves. She has spent a lot of time thinking about that.

Would it attack werewolves? She's not really sure. About anything. They just don't know, and that scares her even more. She would be able to prepare for the known, plan for it accordingly, but not this. Not this uncertainty and unclear path before her.

Not telling her mom was hard. It was hard to smile and lie, saying that she was just tired and was a bit under the weather whenever they went out for lunch or dinner. Or she came over to watch movies or they went shopping.

"It's just a cold," she said, forcing a smile that hurt more than the ache in her body and her heart. "One of those two-week bugs, I'm sure."

And she had to lie. She had to get over her anger because she missed her mom. She missed what could have been and she didn't want to regret not having it while she could. She could be mad, she could move slow and pretend to work her way back to forgiveness, but Caroline knows, in her heart, that in some ways, she may never forgive her mother for basically abandoning her. She may never forgive her for brushing her under the rug because of a curse that ran in her bloodline. It's not fair. It's not right. But at the end of the day, Caroline would rather make nice, and try to fill her days with happiness.

It was perhaps harder to not tell her father. Bill Forbes, who was so in the dark about everything. He didn't know about her being a werewolf. And that was why she was separated from him most of her life, but now he wasn't going to know that she was dying until after she's dead. It's cruel, really, to reconnect with her friends, with her parents, only for her curse to kill her - what? Two months later? If that?

It's a cruel, painful reality.

Caroline doesn't want to give up, she really doesn't but this hopelessness follows her around like a cloud over her head. She can't shake it. She can't escape it. Always there. Always.

Caroline's friends came to see her too. Elena and Bonnie. Matt and Tyler. Even Stefan came to see her. She invited him into the home. Not that it'll matter much once she dies. Or becomes a super supernatural. Or a super werewolf. Or whatever is going to happen to her. It was nice of them to stop by to see her. And it was nice not to have to pretend that she wasn't exhausted and slowly getting worse. Some days it's a struggle to even lift her head off her pillow in the morning. She's hardly eating, not getting any exercise, the only thing she's getting in abundance is attention and sleep.

It's like her body knows she's not strong enough to make it through this next full moon and it's trying to build up as much energy as it can until then.

It was the day of the full moon, early in the morning, when Elijah finally called, saying that he and Athena may have found something. That they just needed a bit more time to see if the lead pans out. Klaus was anxious, upset. He wouldn't stop pacing around Caroline's bedroom while she and Rebekah laid in her bed, nestled under the covers from talking all morning, just watching him pace back and forth. Caroline watched Klaus argue with Elijah over the phone in desperation, pleading with his brother to make haste as they were running out of time, with mild detachment.

She's not sure if it's because of how tired she is all the time, the ache from her body trying to prepare for the full moon tonight, or the fact that she may have given up, but she just listens in solemn silence, like it wasn't her life that he was fighting for.

She could hear the frustration and aggravation in Klaus's voice and even once he hung up the phone. The way he snaps at Rebekah for asking a simple question, and then storms from the room hurts Caroline in a way there aren't words. The two blondes sit in silence for a long time after Klaus slams the door to the house for a few minutes before Rebekah says softly, "He loves you, you know, and that makes him crazy."

Caroline looks over at the Original next to her, trying desperately to find the strength to keep herself awake. "I hate how frazzled he is. I know he's trying to help but he's going to give himself a heart attack from worrying so much."

Rebekah snorts, rolling her eyes. "That doesn't matter. It's not like it's going to shorten his life or anything. All it'll do is minorly inconvenience him and make him more of a pain for the rest of us. I wouldn't worry about him, love."

"But I do worry about him," Caroline says softly. "I love him, Rebekah... and it hurts to watch him trying so hard to save me when..."

"When you've given up?" Rebekah guesses. Her voice is soft and nonjudgmental, but there is something in her eyes, a sadness. A worry, perhaps.

"I haven't given up," Caroline says weakly. "I'm just... so tired. I don't want to hurt him anymore. I know this is slowly tearing him apart. I know my death will hurt him, but I just want him to be okay. I know I'm not the first person that he's lost, but I hate that it's me. That I'm not strong enough to get over this. That... we didn't have enough time. One year isn't enough, Rebekah."

Rebekah smiles then, and it holds more sadness than Caroline can put into words. "I have lived for a thousand years, Caroline, and I can tell you with certainty, not even that is enough."

Caroline wakes up to the sound of soft knocking at her door. She blinks a few times, bleary-eyed, looking around her dark bedroom. The black-out curtains that Rebekah carefully picked out for her to help her sleep during the day. She roughly rubs at her face, sitting up slowly. Her body feels like it is half caked in cement. And she feels so freaking weak. She hates feeling like this.

"Come in?"

The door creaks open a bit and Elena sticks her head into the room, looks around a moment before slipping in and closing the door behind herself. "Hey, Care. I'm sorry. I know you're not feeling well, but I wanted to see you before... well, before later it's too late."

Caroline turns on the light on her bedside table, forcing herself to sit up all the way while still propped up against the headboard. She sags in her bed a bit more than she cares to admit. She just feels so weak.

"It's okay," Caroline rasps, taking a quick sip of her water that Klaus left for her. "I'm happy that you're here. You can sit."

Elena does, lowering onto the side of the bed so that she can face Caroline. "Bonnie has been searching high and low for a way to help. To somehow fix you without awakening the Blue Spirit but..."

"There isn't a way to do it?" Caroline guesses.

Elena shakes her head slowly. "That's the thing, there is hardly anything known about the Blue Spirit. Bonnie could only find fleeting references about it. Something about minions of the Blue Spirit. Something about it dating back since the beginning of magic. But nothing about its hosts. Nothing about sparing their lives, or if their lives even continue after they are awakened."

"I figured," Caroline admits, bitterly. "I tried telling Klaus but... he doesn't want to listen."

Elena's brown eyes stare hard at her, looking conflicted. "So, he's going to awaken the Blue Spirit, then. Regardless of that means for everyone else? Like Damon. Like Stefan. Even Tyler."

Caroline rubs at her forehead. "You know Klaus well enough by now, Elena. He doesn't really care about anyone besides a select few. He just doesn't. In case it wasn't obvious, he's not a great guy to everyone. Honestly, he's a dick to everyone, but that's... just how he is."

Elena looks away for a moment, not really having anything to say about it, which Caroline appreciates. She's been able to reconnect with her childhood friend and despite all of the turbulence - that is almost always Klaus's fault - that they've had along the way for the very short time that they've had, the last thing that she wants is to spend what could be her last conversation with Elena in an argument. She made peace with her friends, she had fun. She told her parents that she loved them both and hugged them tightly the last time she saw them.

Caroline even called Cassie again. The same number that she's called at least a million times since her aunt disappeared to leave a message. Seeing as the inbox hasn't chimed in that it's full, either it was just automatically deleting the old messages, or Cassie was listening to them, even if she wasn't calling back. It kind of hurt, but at the same time Caroline understood. It can't be easy to live running from a cult of ancient vampires with connections beyond what Caroline can even imagine. To be more segregated than before. To finally be completely and utterly alone. How utterly horrible.

And to think that this was all Caroline's fault. Well, her and the Blue Spirit.

"I'm sorry we couldn't find a way to help you," Elena says, genuinely remorseful. "I'm still in touch with Bonnie. I know things seem bleak now, but hopefully, she'll come up with something. We still have time."

The hopefulness in Elena's dark eyes makes Caroline smile softly at her one-time childhood friend. "Thank you for that, Elena. You sound just like Klaus. Not willing to give up until the very end."

Elena nods slowly. "We're right here for you, Caroline. I guess... Klaus didn't take any of this well..."

"No," Caroline laughs weakly, slumping against the headboard a bit. "He's been hovering. So has Rebekah. But it sounds like Elijah may have found something."

Elena jerks, surprised, turning her dark eyes toward Caroline. "Really? Wh-what did he find?"

Caroline shakes her head, feeling her eyes drooping closed. She forces them open and straightens up. "I have no idea. But it sounds like they might have something that can awaken the Blue Spirit. The question is... will it work?"

Elena doesn't respond right away, staring down at the carpet with a look warring across her face as she bites at the end of her thumb. "So they really are going to awaken the Blue Spirit? Despite the fact that it hunts supernatural?"

Caroline lets out a little sigh. "I guess so."

Elena turns her troubled look back to Caroline. "Are you okay with that?"

Caroline rubs at her face roughly, hoping that it would help wake her up more but it only serves to make her more exhausted, this isn't what she wanted her last conversation with Elena to be about. She glances over at her clock before looking back at Elena. "I only have a few hours left until the full moon has reached its apex and I begin the shift. Athena seems really sure that I'm not strong enough to make it through another. And honestly, I think she might be right," Caroline swallows as a twinge of panic strikes at her heart but she forces it down. "I don't want to be a monster, Elena. But I'm scared to die. I don't know what else to do. I don't want to hurt anyone, I really don't. I'm just... I'm terrified."

"So you want to awaken the Blue Spirit?" Elena asks, her voice low as she peers through the dim light to the blonde laying in bed.

Caroline finally sinks into the bed, too exhausted to keep upright any longer. "I want to live, Elena. But I don't want to be trapped in a body that kills people. Especially my friends. I'm just not sure what to do."

Elena nods, scooting closer to help tuck Caroline back into her bed. She takes Caroline's hand and squeezes it tightly, staring down at her with large, dark eyes, asking softly, "What if you can't be you? What if the Blue Spirit takes over and it's like you're trapped in your own body like a prison for the next hundred years? Forced to watch as your body does terrible things without your consent?"

Caroline feels the fear overwhelm her once more as Elena's words echoed that little voice that's been keeping her up at night. She swallows thickly, hands suddenly cold and shaking. "If that's the case..." Caroline admits softly to her friend, "then I would rather fall asleep right now and never awaken, dying while peacefully in my dreams."

Something awakens her.

At first, Caroline couldn't figure out what it was. She looks around her room, feeling completely lost on where she was or how she got there. It takes her longer than she would have liked to recollect her thoughts before she looks over at the clock, blinking blurry eyes to see it's almost ten o'clock. Klaus should have come to get her a long time ago. The moon is almost at its apex!

Caroline jolts up, her body immediately screaming in protest but she throws the covers off of her legs and stands up, sways, falls to a knee before shaking her head and forcing herself back up onto her feet. Then there is a feeling that washes over her. Klaus. Her wolf wants Klaus. She can feel it stirring in her chest, panting and pacing and frothing. Something is wrong. This sickening feeling in her gut tells her that something horrible is happening.

Caroline stumbles to the door, fighting with her body the whole time before she manages to wrap her hand around the doorknob and yank it open into the quiet hall. It takes her a moment to orient herself. She looks down both halls, trying to get her frazzled mind to focus. Klaus, she needs to find Klaus.

She stumbles down the hall, her mind whirling as she clings to the wall, unable to stand without its support. Just as she's passing one of the bedrooms, an empty one in this large house, Caroline spots something on the floor. It takes only a moment to realize it's Rebekah, lying prone on the ground on her chest with what looks like a knife in her back.

"Oh my god," Caroline gasps, stumbling and falling into the room before crawling over to her friend. "Rebekah! Oh God, Rebekah!" She touches her friend's skin to feel it's like ice to the touch and her skin is desiccated and gray. Panic grips at Caroline's heart as she gropes at her friend's body trying to wake her up. She's an immortal! She can't die. She's an Original!

Caroline takes a moment, forcing herself to calm down. She turns her eyes to the knife in Rebekah's back and is immediately brought back in time to her second day back in Mystic Falls. To sweet Rebekah unconscious in her coffin with a silver dagger in her chest. That same silver dagger is now in her back. Caroline sucks in a deep breath. Rebekah isn't dead. She's alive, just daggered.

Before Caroline can react something that sounds akin to an explosion shakes the house, making her jump, then cower over her best friend's body to protect her. Then Caroline feels a little silly seeing as Rebekah was both immortal and unconscious. Caroline knows she can't just stay there and do nothing, so she grabs onto the thin handle of the dagger and pulls it from her best friend's back. It didn't take Rebekah a long time to awaken last time, so hopefully, she hasn't been daggered for too long.

Caroline tosses the dagger out of the way and stands up, wondering how this could have happened. Did Klaus do it? Dagger his sister again like he's always - jokingly - threatened to do? But why would he do that? It doesn't make any sense.

Either way, Caroline hopes for the best and flees from the room, heading for the stairs as something goes crashing through the front door, blowing it up in a spray of glass and wooden shards. Caroline ducks down at the top of the stairs for a moment while the dust settles, before looking around at the destruction of the foyer from the destroyed door, wall, table, and everything else that was in the path of the bomb.

On shaking legs, Caroline makes her way down the stairs, hearing the sound of fighting outside. She looks into the other side of the foyer first to see Elijah, speared with a huge piece of wood through the chest and desiccating laying on the ground, unmoving. Caroline chokes out a sob of fear, her knees shaking in terror. That can't kill him, right?

"Elijah..?" Caroline squeaks, about to run over to him - and what? Pull the huge chunk of wood out of his chest? Yeah, she's not sure about that one - when Klaus's scream of agony pulls her eyes in the opposite direction. Whipping her head around she sees down in the yard, Klaus on his back with a man straddling him, pushing something down on him.

Caroline's wolf screams in rage and in a burst of strength she didn't know she had, Caroline is racing out of the house, jumping over the stairs and onto the sidewalk. She makes it the ten or so feet to Klaus and the unknown pushing what appears to be a white stake into his chest. Somewhere in the back of her mind, it almost sounds like someone screaming out her name, but she doesn't have time to focus on it.

Caroline, moving faster than she has ever moved before, slides one hand under the arm of the man over Klaus to help push the stake away from the center of his chest while jumping onto the man's back. With Caroline's help to both push the stake away with her hand, while pushing it down with her added weight on the man's back, Klaus lets out a scream of pain as the stake digs into his shoulder.

Feeling the moonlight pouring down into her skin, Caroline can feel the change fast approaching. She doesn't give herself time to think. She lets the moon shift her eyes yellow and elongate her teeth for the first time in her life. She's never done a partial shift with her fangs before. But now isn't the time to think about it. She doesn't know what is going on or who this man is, but he's hurting Klaus, and she can't let that happen.

Rearing back, flashing her fangs, Caroline goes for the junction between the man's neck and shoulder, feeling her razor-sharp canines puncture the flesh with ease, blood filling her mouth. The man growls in pain as Caroline feels the coolness of her venom flowing out of her and into the man beneath her. If he's a vampire, he's done for, and if he's not... Caroline has no idea how he could have taken on both Klaus and Elijah in one go.

Given, Caroline hasn't seen either of them fight, but she knows enough about the age of vampires helping to depict how strong they are. And you don't get stronger than an Original. Except for maybe a Hybrid.

She's not sure how long she was wrapped around this unknown man like a viper, pushing venom into his neck. She opens her eyes to see Klaus's own eyes staring back at her in abject horror. She's never seen such innate fear in his eyes and it honestly terrifies her, chilling her to the bone.

"Caroline, no! Run! Get away from Mikael!"

Caroline doesn't have a chance to even process the words before her spine cracks. The gurgled scream that escapes her makes her release the man she was biting and fall to the ground, writhing in pain as she coughs up the blood in her throat, thankfully not having swallowed any. She spits a few times, shivering as her bones start breaking once more.

"Klaus!" Caroline cries, twisting to look over at the man she loves to see that white stake jammed further into his shoulder, making his roar in pain as he grasps at it to try and pull it out.

The man then looks at Caroline, an angry snarl on his face as he reaches toward Caroline, who was too weak to move. Her eyes widen in horror, a choked scream leaving her as his hand plunges into her chest, wrapping around her heart.

It felt like hours, the power of the moonlight keeping her alive, flowing into her powerful waves, trying to rapidly heal her body around the hand in her chest as well as continue with the transition into a wolf, and it's like agony. Like a fire burning in her chest so hot, it's eating through her. Each beat of her heart was like glass shards through her veins.

His angry eyes burn through her as he leans close, spitting out angrily, "So you are the filthy mongrel that bastard boy has claimed the heart of? Then fine, offer your heart to him."

"Father no, please!" Klaus sobs, from over the man's shoulder Caroline can see Klaus reaching out for her, tears in his eyes. "Don't hurt her! Please, she has nothing to do with this, I beg you, please!"

The man - "Father," Klaus called him, so Mikael. The infamous Mikael that had abused Klaus his entire life and hunted him for the last thousand years for the sake of killing him - sneered at her, disgusted, before ripping her heart from her chest.

And then it all stopped.


	16. Mate

Author's Note: Wow! Thank you so much for the 100 reviews! Sorry about the long wait! This didn't exactly pan out the way that I wanted it to, but it ended up working out the way I imagined, either way. I'm not super proud of this chapter, so I'll probably come back at some point to rewrite it, but I think I've waited long enough to post it. Thank you all for your support. I wish there was a better way to thank you but here you go! I hope that you guys enjoy it regardless! Let me know what you think!

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Athena rereads the text one more time to make sure she's translating it correctly before grabbing out her phone and looking through her contacts. As soon as she finds Elijah's name she hits the call button and brings it up to her ear. She spares a glance over at the grandfather clock in the corner of her study. Elijah left a few hours ago, entrusting that she would be able to figure it out by the time he reached Mystic Falls from her second home a few hours away from the hamlet town. She had to reach out to a lot of friends in order to dig up what meager information she could on the Blue Spirit that she and Elijah have been pouring over since they got to this home while the girl in question withered away in her home.

The phone rings softly in her ear and Athena knows immediately that something isn't right. Elijah was very adamant about her reaching out to him once she's confirmed her suspicions. He wouldn't just decide to not answer now. Something is definitely wrong.

She taps her nails against the hardwood of the desk she's sitting at, looking around the room while chewing on her lower lip.

Once Elijah's voice man chimes in, she hangs up the phone, chewing on her lower lip. She looks around her room for a long moment before looking down at the book in front of her. It's old and torn, well-loved, and the page that she's on has a picture of a blue amorphous figure bursting from the body of a person surrounded by other people all shying away. But the biggest, most notable part of all of it was the big, bright full moon.

Rebekah couldn't breathe. She stood in the doorway of their home looking out over the scene in the front yard, mouth agape as Klaus scrambles over to Caroline, holding her in his arms as this horrible, gut-wrenching wail escapes him. He cradles her, not even seeming to care about his audience or that Mikael is relishing in Klaus's obvious pain.

Rebekah has heard Klaus's wails of pain when Mikael has beaten him as a human or when he was forcefully severed from his werewolf side. Those moments of pain haunt Rebekah's nightmares, but this anguished scream of agony, like his heart has been ripped to shreds inside of his own body on constant repeat echoes in her ears. Rebekah can feel her brother's pain as if it was her own, tearing her apart at the seams.

She can see Caroline's death tearing her brother apart piece by piece. Like a piece of his soul has been ripped out. He's never going to be the same after this. And honestly? Rebekah's not so sure she will either. Caroline... Caroline was special. Their friendship was special. They just clicked so well. Elijah even liked her - a lot. Which says something as Elijah typically tolerates people with kindness or indifference. Genuinely liking someone, for as much as he liked Caroline, was rare for her brother.

And Klaus? Rebekah has never seen her half brother so emotionally entangled in another living being. Klaus loved her so plainly, so openly, something her brother doesn't do. He doesn't openly express his love and admiration. But he did with Caroline. His love for her made him a little crazy, but Rebekah has never seen her brother more in love before in her life. And he's never seemed lighter. Freer. Her love of life and other's happiness made her a beacon of light for Rebekah's bastard brother. And he loved her so much.

And her death is destroying him.

Right before her very eyes, she can see her brother breaking down, both emotionally and physically. He openly weeps over her unmoving body, looking lost. Uncaring who was watching him or the obvious danger that Mikael presents, still being there. He has done it. Finally. Mikael has finally destroyed Klaus so wholly. On such a metaphysical level. Rebekah can see that her brother is broken. More broken than he has ever been. Fractured, perhaps beyond repair. And that terrifies Rebekah more than there are words.

But Mikael isn't done. Not with them. He won't relish in his victory forever though. And Rebekah is done with being afraid.

Elijah steps up next to her, rubbing at the space in the center of his chest from where she saw he was impaled by a large piece of debris a minute ago, turning dark eyes toward the scene in front of him, taking it all in.

Rebekah can't even look at Elena and Stefan standing off to one side, Elena crying into his arms. Or Damon and Elena standing mutely on her other side, just watching the chaos of their new reality. It takes Rebekah a moment of thought and a double-take to realize that there weren't two Elenas. One was Katherine who no doubt returned to try and exact her revenge on Klaus.

And ended up assisting in getting Caroline killed.

No doubt the blubbering doppelganger was Elena, but Rebekah couldn't even summon up a minuscule amount of care for that right now. Right now, she wanted to tear Mikael apart.

She turns to look at her older brother, to see him slowly turning to look back at her. And in his eyes, she sees rage. She's not sure if it's for Caroline's death, Klaus's pain, or the situation in its entirety, but Rebekah finds strength in it. Enough strength to turn her grief over the brutal murder of her friend - probably safe to say best friend, seeing as there was no one else - into the rage she needs to finally face the monster that has been haunting her and her brothers for the last thousand years.

She feels a tear slide down her cheek as her rage mounts and the veins crawl up her cheeks, as they do for Elijah. They were done running. Now it was time to fight their demons.

Rebekah and Elijah are then moving toward Mikael as fast as their legs can take them. Before Mikael can decide to stop relishing in Klaus's heart-breaking suffering and kill him, Rebekah and Elijah are on top of Mikael. They are in a flurry of motion, fighting the man who raised them. Fight the man that hunted them.

It took a few minutes of listening to his brother and sister fighting their father before Klaus finally pulled back into himself only to find that there was nothing left. Only emptiness in his heart. It feels like his body is empty now. There isn't even a soul in his body anymore. There just this emptiness where his heart used to be. Now it lies dead in his hands. He has nothing left. No. No, he has something. Just one thing.

He has rage.

And that is when he delicately lowered the young woman he loves to the ground, promising to be back soon, before turning to face her killer and stand with his favorite siblings. Then he's with them. The three siblings move together. Elijah and Klaus with a precision and grace that over a thousand years of fighting together would provide with Rebekah jumping in whenever she could. But it's obvious that Elijah and Klaus were the bigger threats as Mikael would go at them with all his skill while he would just toss Rebekah away like she was nothing.

Rebekah is tossed against a tree, knocking the wind out of her as she slumps on the ground, panting in exhaustion. She's not really a fighter. At least not against someone like Mikael. He's an entirely different beast than other vampires. He's a thousand-year-old Viking who has been fighting all of his life. He definitely puts all the other vampires that Rebekah has faced to absolute shame.

Her phone starts to ring in her pocket and she blinks a few times, still watching the flurry of motion as Mikael basically tosses her two brothers around their front yard with practiced ease. Rebekah contemplates ignoring it to join her brothers again, but a split second feeling makes her wiggle it out of her pocket. She has to pull her eyes away from the sound of the bones in Klaus's arm cracking at the sharp angle that Mikael twists it while Elijah is staggering back to his feet. Both of which look worse for wear.

It's Athena.

Angry and bitter about the woman not having been able to help them, to help Caroline, she answers the phone with a sharp, "A little busy at the moment, Athena. We're gonna have to call you back."

"Don't hang up, Rebekah," Athena says calmly. "I've found how to awaken the Blue Spirit. It's not too late."

"Oh, I can assure you, it is," Rebekah snarls, pushing herself to her feet. "Mikael, my father, is here. He just ripped her heart from her chest. I'm sure there isn't going to be a lot of awakening going on around here, save for if we make it out of this alive." She said it, hoping that for whatever reason that would make the pain in her chest ease up a bit, but it only served to hurt her more. Caroline was gone.

"Mikael?" Athena gasps, and for once it was nice to hear something aside from smooth indifference in the dark-skinned woman's voice. "The Original Vampire? He killed her."

"Yes, and he's trying to kill my brothers so if you'll excuse me - " She moves to hang up the phone, mentally chastising herself as this literally did nothing to help her other than maybe catch her breath.

"Wait, Rebekah!" Athena calls, making the Original pause. "If she was killed by a supernatural being, it's not too late. The Blue Spirit needed to be killed on the night of the full moon to begin the transition."

A pregnant silence as Rebekah tries to process her words, fighting the hope that was building in her chest. "It does...? Wh... What is supposed to happen next?"

"The Blue Spirit will rise, but it needs one very important thing to complete the transformation."

"And that is?" Rebekah asks through bated breath, her eyes blown wide.

"She needs to kill the one that set the transition in motion," Athena says evenly, "before the sun rises the following morning."

Rebekah's heart sinks. If Caroline was to survive... it would be on the back of killing Mikael? And it would have to be done tonight? Honestly, Rebekah fantasized about killing their father tonight, but a part of her thought that one of three things would happen. Either they would run, Mikael would, or he would kill them. She didn't actually think that they would be able to outmatch Mikael. Not the three of them.

Rebekah opens her mouth, about to ask how they were supposed to do that, when her eyes travel to the spot that Caroline was, lying in the grass. Only to find that the spot was empty. Rebekah hangs up the phone, blue eyes flickering about trying to locate the other blonde in the darkness of the lawn around them. Elena, Katherine, and the Salvatore brothers seem paralyzed in place, bearing witness to however this is going to end.

"C...Caroline?" Rebekah asks softly, her lips barely moving. Then panic and fear pumps through her as she begins to wildly look around. "Caroline? Caroline?"

Either they processed what she said, or they simply heard the panic in her voice, one way or the other, both brothers managed to separate from Mikael far enough to look over at her.

"What?" Elijah gasps, eyebrows pulling together tightly.

"Caroline's gone," Rebekah chokes out.

Panic flickers across Klaus's face as he looks over for her body only for the spot to be empty. His full lips part before they focus on something just passed Mikael, out of Rebekah's sight.

It's Caroline, using a tree to help pull herself up to her feet. She stumbles a bit before straightening up, rolling her shoulders back, and letting out a little sigh.

"By the gods..." Mikael spits, frowning displeased. "What manner of abomination is this?"

"It's Caroline..." Rebekah whispers, hope filling her chest as her friend slowly turns to face them, her chin down to her chest and her eyes closed.

"No..." Elijah says slowly, "it's the Blue Spirit."

Caroline raises her head slowly as she opens her eyes. They are the sharpest most unnatural glowing blue eyes that Rebekah has ever seen in a person. They are clear and bright even in the darkness. It's Caroline's face, but it doesn't seem like it is with the Blue Spirit's blue eyes staring back at them and her face completely impassive - devoid of any sort of emotion.

There is a hole in her shirt just below her blossom where the skin has cleanly healed over. She looks between all of them without a hint of emotion until her eyes land on Mikael and her face morph into an ugly snarl, her lips curling up to reveal the dual pointed werewolf fangs and she snarls at Mikael. The hope in Rebekah's heart is shattered. This wasn't Caroline at all.

Then she's moving, crossing the space from where she stood to Mikael in moments. Definitely not faster than that of an Original, but definitely faster than a werewolf should be. She's on Mikael in moments, in a flurry of motion, slashing at him with elongated nails and hissing. She looks like a rabid animal. She was just missing the crazed eyes and the frothing.

She thrusts a fist into Mikael's chest, making to pull his heart out - reminiscent of how he ripped her own heart out. But the magic holding him together is too strong for Caroline to pull his heart out. Caroline growls, lip curling in anger at being unable to kill him. She yanks once, twice, three times, before Mikael's had enough, grabbing onto her arm, twisting it painfully so that she would lt go before pulling her hand from his chest and throws her to the dirt.

Caroline snarls, popping back up to her feet and turning to face the oldest Original Vampire. Mikael, not in the mood for games anymore, punches her hard in the chest, so hard that her chest collapses and she falls back onto the ground. There is a long moment of silence, where they all just stare down at Caroline before Mikael looks away, turning his attention back to the sole focus of his anger. He barely makes it a few steps before Caroline's chest pops back into place and she's popped back up onto her feet and then lunges onto Mikael's back.

She rears back, flashing her fangs before, for the second time that night, she plunges her teeth into his neck. The painful gasp is immediate. She pushes venom into his neck.

Mikael lets out a roar of rage, reaching back to grab at Caroline and ripping her off of him, and throwing her down into the dirt once more. She scrambles to her feet, blood dripping down her face and chest. Her lips curl again as she snarls.

"She has to kill him," Rebekah says, rushing over to her brothers while keeping an eye on Mikael, who was holding onto his neck, which was pouring blood. "She has to kill him or she won't finish the transition."

"How is she going to do that?" Elijah asks, glancing down at the white oak stake still clutched in Mikael's hand.

"Her venom..." Klaus whispers, his blue eyes wide.

"What?" Rebekah asks, giving him a sideways look. "Werewolf venom won't kill an Original."

"Then why is Mikael desiccating?" Klaus whispers, lips parting.

Rebekah and Elijah look over at their father as he wipes away the blood pouring from his neck from a wound that should have at least started to heal at this point to see the skin underneath starting to desiccate. Caroline snarls, pacing back and forth in front of Mikael, looking for the perfect opportunity to strike, her eyes never straying from him.

"Athena is right..." Rebekah whispers, "Caroline... the Blue Spirit... they are strong enough to kill an Original."

"We don't know that yet," Elijah says evenly, rolling up his sleeves. "We know now that her bite weakens us. Now we have to make sure we don't get bitten. If she can kill Mikael, he won't be our problem anymore. The same goes for if we can wrestle the white oak from him."

Klaus and Rebekah bob their heads in agreement. Both of them holding onto hope that by fully awakening the Blue Spirit, Caroline will come back to them. That everything will be okay. Get rid of Mikael is also a big part of it. No more running. No more fear. No more looking over the shoulder or uncertainty. Finally, they could all be free.

Caroline spits and snarls at the Originals whenever they get close to her, so fighting around her proves difficult, but with their superior speed, they manage. Mikael notably starts to slow down as the venom from Caroline's enhanced bite takes effect and Mikael continues to desiccate further. He holds strong and steady, not willing to give up or show fear as his body slowly starts to give up on him and his children and Caroline start to gain the upper hand.

Every strike is a possible deadly one. Mikael got ahold of Klaus and almost managed to pierce his chest with the white oak when Caroline latched onto his arm and sank her teeth into his flesh, pumping him full of more venom. She did this any and every time a limb was offered or she was given the chance to leap up onto his back and bite at his neck or shoulders. Caroline was horrible to look at, smaller and slower than the Originals made her easy to toss around, but give her a few moments and she pops back up onto her feet as if nothing happened.

The Blue Spirit's vitality is impressive considering the beat down it's getting. But it continues onward. Nothing keeps it down for more than a minute. No matter the bones were broken, the organs removed, or the tremendous blunt force trauma instilled. The Blue Spirit will heal the wounds and get right back up again.

It felt like a hundred years passed before Mikael truly started to slow down, and by then it was too late for him to run. Together, Elijah and Klaus managed to hold Mikael in place long enough for Rebekah to rip the white oak from his hand but before she could even consider ending her father's life with the cherished weapon of immortal destruction, Caroline is on him, gripping tightly onto his neck, grinning a bloody-toothed smile, before bearing her fangs and digging them into his desiccated throat. Most of his body now has completely desiccated as the venom works through him.

She pulls back, opening her mouth in a gleeful grin as Mikael's blood spills from her lips and she looks up to the moon, reaching up for it for a moment. A soft, sweet coo rumbles from her chest before turning eery blue eyes down toward Mikael's body. She curls her fingers together before plunging her hand into his chest, leaning in close to snarl into his face before ripping his heart from his body.

Rebekah couldn't believe it. The magic of their body should prevent an Original's heart from being removed. Rebekah has no idea what happens to an Original if someone somehow manages to remove their heart. Do they die? Does the magic vanish? Does the heart begin to disappear so that a new one can grow in their chest once more? Rebekah has absolutely no idea.

Mikael's body freezes for a moment before collapsing onto the ground, unmoving. The Blue Spirit hums triumphantly, looking up at the moon when something catches her attention. She looks back down at the heart in her hand to see the magic starting to bring Mikael back. She growls, curling her lip before sinking her fangs into his heart, and the magic stops. Mikael's body remains completely unmoving for one moment. Two moments. Three. And then it burst into flames, forcing the siblings to all scoot away from the body of the man that raised him as the blue fire quickly burns his body to ash.

Then there is silence. The night falls quiet as the fire burns Mikael's body away. Caroline looks up at the sky, toward the moon while holding her arms up toward the moon, letting out a pleased sigh as the smoke from Mikael's body wafts up around Caroline, almost as if sinking into her flesh as twinkling bits of moonlight are absorbed into her flesh.

She runs her hands up and down her neck as white markings start working their way up from her clavicle to her jaw. Thin, intricate swirls curl up the hollow of her throat to the underside of her jaw. Between the intricate swirls, there is enough room from six nickel-sized circles between them. Three on each side of her neck. They glow brightly as the smoke and moonlight sink into her skin. Caroline hums deep in her throat, making them glow brighter still.

She rubs away at the fresh blood that coats the front of her body. Once Mikael's body finally burns away to ash and the fire dies away, Caroline lowers her hands to her side, rolling her shoulders back as a series of cracks work their way up and down her body.

"Caroline...?"

The blonde tilts her head slightly, looking over at the hybrid who called to her with those eerie, glowing blue eyes. For a long moment, she just stares at him before she sucks in a long, slow breath. Then her expression sharpens and she lunges at him, snarling and snapping at him. He falls onto his back in the grass and she lands on top of him.

"Caroline, stop!" Rebekah gasps.

Caroline snarls, glowing blue eyes like twin fireballs in her sockets as she rounds her hand once more and jams it into Klaus's chest. She grins at his yell of pain as she moves her hand around his heart and tries to pull it out only for the magic to hold it in place. Caroline's grin falls to an annoyed grimace. She sighs, bares her teeth, and lunges for his throat.

"No, no!" Rebekah says, lunging forward to stop Caroline but Elijah grabs her and pulls her back.

"No, Rebekah! Don't let her bite you," Elijah warns into her ear, pulling her back before pushing her behind him. He contemplates what to do.

"Caroline..." Klaus whispers as Caroline's teeth brush against his skin before she stops.

Through the anger and the red in her mind, she can sense something. Something... good. It's strong enough to pierce the veil of anger in her mind - through the battle high she got from fighting, killing, and completing her transformation. She pulls back slowly, trying to work through what made her stop. And then she smells it, so strongly in her nose, she pulls back. She looks down at Klaus, taking in his pale, tired face twisted in a grimace of pain as her hand constricts the beating of his heart.

Klaus reaches forward, despite his pain to touch her face. Caroline snarls at his hand, leaning away from his touch like it was poisonous while settling back on his hips, making sure he couldn't easily escape her.

"It's okay..." Klaus says softly, despite his obvious pain, there are relief and happiness in his eyes. And a love that there aren't any words for. "It's okay, my love. It's me..."

Caroline's lip curls at his hand, using her free one to slap it away before leaning in close to his neck to search for that smell again. It hits her full blast. She pulls back again, staring down at Klaus with bright eyes and an impassive expression. She hums slightly before leaning down and breathing in his scent deeply. She lets out a long, slow sigh, before breathing him in again.

"What is she doing?" Rebekah asks, still wanting to get the dangerous werewolf away from her brother.

"Ever since Niklaus awakened his werewolf side again, Caroline has said that he exudes a nice scent that she likes..." Elijah says slowly, not daring to come too close for fear of triggering the werewolf. "It seems that the Blue Spirit likes it too. It might be bringing Caroline back to the forefront of her mind."

"I hope so..." Rebekah says softly, holding the white oak stake tightly between her two hands like a lifeline.

Caroline's low hums slowly turn into content purrs as she nuzzles her nose into his neck. She pulls back, settling onto his hips before ripping her hand from his chest, leaving his heart where it was. Klaus groans in pain but doesn't say anything for a long moment. He waits a moment, staring into her glowing eyes before reaching out for her face again. This time she grabs hold of his hand and rests it against her cheek, closing her eyes and cooing.

Caroline smiles then. It's a soft, beautiful smile very reminiscent of the real Caroline's smile. Not quite the vibrancy and the loving smile that Klaus remembers, but it's soft and breathtaking in its own right. It's Caroline's face, yet somehow the smile could only be the Blue Spirit's.

"My beautiful wolf..." Klaus whispers, running his thumb across her cheek as the Blue Spirit hums. She sucks in a deep breath then, pushing her chest out a bit so that her lungs can expand as far as they can before she lets out a long, low hum. A steady stream of noise for a few solid seconds before it breaks up into a few notes, dropping lower and lower into her throat and chest, the markings on her neck glowing as Klaus feels, against his will, his eyes shift color from blue to gold and the veins in his face run-up to his eyes.

Caroline smiles down at him until she sees the veins under his eyes and the blackening of his sclera. She frowns, growling displeased. There is a look on her face, waring with her instinct to attack the unnatural, the supernatural werewolf/vampire being, and whatever that wonderful smell was that made her stop in the first place.

"What is it..?" Klaus asks softly, hoping to distract her from deciding whether she wanted to kill him or not. "What is that smell, Blue Spirit?"

The Blue Spirit stares down at him, pursing her lips a bit before reaching for his face, running the pads of her thumbs over the bulging veins in his face. She grunts low in her throat and nudges at his cheek with her nose. Then she looks at him, to see if he understood. Klaus shakes his head slowly, not understanding what she's trying to say. She leans in again, rubbing her cheek against the side of his throat, humming sweetly before pulling back to look at him expectantly.

"I don't understand, my love," Klaus says softly, studying her closely. "I'm sorry. I just don't."

She sighs, clicking her tongue before saying, in a low gurgled tone, like she doesn't know how to use her voice, "Mate. My mate."


	17. Wings

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

"Mate..." The Hybrid whispers, his voice soft and airy, as if stuck under her spell.

Klaus slowly cups her face, staring into those inhuman, glowing blue eyes. She purs happily at his soft affection. Her lips curve up in a smile as she looks down into his eyes. She settles back on his hips a bit, tilting her head back and forth before looking up toward the sky, glowing eyes finding the moon. She spreads her arms open wide toward the sky, staring at the moon as twinkling starlight falls from the moon and into her skin. The marks on her neck start to glow just a bit brighter as she hums deep in her throat.

She lowers her chin to her chest and her arms to her side to stare down at Klaus. She smiles again, flashing white teeth stained a bit red with blood before movement catches her eye and she turns to look over at Rebekah and Elijah. She tilts her head to the side slightly before humming low in her chest and magic crackles in the air around them, forcing the siblings' eyes to reveal themselves as vampires. Her lips curl in rage and she pops up to her feet.

She turns her eerie blue eyes toward the closest vampire sibling - Rebekah - and growls, spreading her legs wide in a mixture of a defensive stance and an aggressive stance.

"Caroline..." Rebekah says softly, looking terrified. Elijah, who had his arm around her to hold her back earlier, is now slowly pulling her back and away from the supercharged werewolf. "Please don't do this."

Klaus pushes himself between Caroline and his siblings, grabbing onto her arms and holding her in place while she snarls at his siblings over his shoulder. Klaus pushes Caroline back as Elijah pulls Rebekah to keep them separate.

"No, Blue Spirit," Klaus says, moving so that his face was in her's, breaking her line of sight from Rebekah and Elijah. She growls at him but he holds himself steady without flinching. "No, Blue Spirit. Don't touch them. They are my family. My brother. My sister."

The Blue Spirit tries to look past him but Klaus keeps putting himself in her way to stare into her eyes. She growls at him again, not appreciating how he's trying to block her from her foes.

"My siblings," Klaus says again, slowly. "My family. My brother and sister." The Blue Spirit finally looks at him, really look at him after a few long moments of staring holes through Rebekah and Elijah. Her lips fall flat as she stares at him, like she hears him, but doesn't understand what he's trying to say. Klaus squeezes her arms, pressing closer to her. "If we are mates, then I'm asking you to not hurt my siblings. My family."

The Blue Spirit frowns, eyebrows pull together tightly. She looks over at the siblings, then to Klaus, then back to the siblings, her lip curling a bit in disgust. She bares her teeth at Klaus, snarling.

"Nature is in balance," Rebekah says, her voice holding the smallest of a tremor, but it pulls the Blue Spirit's blue eyes toward her. "It was disrupted when we were created... but we have become part of nature. It's been a thousand years... we are here. We are part of nature now..." She chews on her lower lip for a moment. "We're alive. In our own way. We aren't a plague anymore. We have control. It's ugly and imperfect but we are still part of nature. We weren't before, but we are now. Not all vampires are good. Not all witches are good. Not all werewolves are good. If you are... if you're willing to show mercy to one or two of them, why can't you show mercy to all three? Have we not gotten past the blighted part of our existence?"

The Blue Spirit stares at her, blue eyes wide as she tilts her head back and forth, with a completely impassive look on her face. The Blue Spirit is listening to her but it's not clear if it hears what she's saying or not.

Rebekah extracts herself carefully from Elijah's grip, staring back into the glowing blue eyes of the super werewolf in front of her. "I understand when we were created and we didn't have control. Or when there were only us children. But it's not just us and we aren't going around needlessly slaughtering people by the hundreds just because we are evil creatures of the night. We have assimilated, adapted to survive. Is that not nature at its core?" Rebekah sucks in a deep breath, taking a tiny step closer to the Blue Spirit but being sure to stay behind her brother. "And doesn't the fault for our creation lies with the creator? Our mother used magic to make us this way. Our own mother. Why are we the criminals for what she did? I understand if we are to be killed for what we did, but why must we die because of what someone made us into?"

The Blue Spirit turns her head more to the side, listening, but still, her expression remains impassive. She doesn't look outwardly aggressive anymore which is comforting in its own way. It gives Rebekah a bit of strength and courage to push onward.

Rebekah steps a bit closer. "I don't know if you know Caroline... the body of the person that you're inhabiting, but she's my friend. Maybe my best friend. I don't have a lot of friends..." Rebekah looks down at the stake in her hand before looking back into those unnaturally blue eyes. "And my brother... my brother Nik loves her. Loves her so much that while we unintentionally awakened you, we thought we lost her. And my brother... well... Nik, Elijah, and I... we love her. She's our family. The body that you inhabit... she's our family."

"I don't know how she feels about me," Rebekah continues softly, "but I know how I feel about her. She is my family. I love her. And even though it's only been a few hours... I miss her. I miss her because she brings light into our lives. It's easy to love her because she's open and honest and kind and wonderful, but she loves us too. Despite the fact that we are all dark and twisty. She loves us, and she's your host. That's got to matter for something, doesn't it?"

The Blue Spirit's eyebrows pull together as her frown deepens a bit. She growls, but it lacks some of the luster that it had before. It's more of a noise than the threat that it was before. The Blue Spirit is still looking at Rebekah with eyes flashing in disgust and anger.

Rebekah looks down at the stake again, eyebrows pulling together too. She chews on her lower lip a bit more before taking another tiny step closer to Klaus and the Blue Spirit, sucking in a deep breath as the Blue Spirit starts growling low in her throat again, staring hard at Rebekah.

"Careful, Rebekah," Klaus mumbles under his breath.

"Shut up, Nik," Rebekah mumbles back. "We are part of nature now, Blue Spirit. My brothers and I. We... are alive. We can die. We can... save lives. We can heal people with our blood. Hell, we can even reproduce! Sure, not like humans. But we can make more of us, and that's like reproducing, right? We can laugh, and cry, and feel sensations of the body and heart. We can control our urges and while we are capable of great evil, we are also capable of great good." Rebekah stares into the glowing eyes of the Blue Spirit, her shoulders slumping as her voice falls to a small, breathy whisper, "If you are going to kill me. Please don't do it wearing the face of my best friend. That is crueler than this existence I didn't ask for. Please."

The Blue Spirit looks over at Klaus, staring into his eyes for a long moment as if somehow reading his mind, before looking over at Rebekah, growling lowly. The Blue Spirit lowers her eyes down toward the grass, staring at the palms of her hands for a moment before pressing them into her stomach and letting out a little sigh. She stretches her spine, rolling her shoulders and then sighing again, this time defeated before holding out her hand to the Mikaelson sister. Rebekah looks down at her hand, then to the Blue Spirit, back to the hand, before finally settling on the Blue Spirit. She moves the White Oak Stake over to her left hand before slowly lowering her right hand onto the Blue Spirit's offered hand.

The Blue Spirit turns her hand over a presses her nose into the pulse point there, taking a deep breath. She makes a displeased face, sighing, before taking another deep breath and holding it for a moment. Two. Three. Then she exhales, letting out the breath of acceptance and offering a thin smile taking one more lung full of breath, holding it a moment, then hums again, making the markings on her neck glow before she exhales onto Rebekah's wrist. Her breath is hot, so hot it almost sears the skin.

Rebekah goes to pull back, gasping in pain but the Blue Spirit doesn't let go. She breathes out until her lungs are empty before pulling back and letting Rebekah's hand go. Rebekah pulls her hand to her chest and steps back. She looks down at the inside of her wrist to see the reddening skin slowly turn redder and redder but on the sides, something white starts to appear. More and more and more, it clears up until there are two small, identical scars. Marks that look like wings.

"What is that..?" Rebekah asks, looking at the Blue Spirit.

She tilts her head, not responding before looking over at Elijah and holding out her hand for him to take.

"She's marking us," Elijah says, unbuttoning the button on his sleeve and pushing it up to offer his hand to her for her to start the process over again with him this time.

"What does that mean?" Rebekah asks as Klaus slowly moves out of the way so that she can do what she's doing.

Elijah shakes his head slowly. "I'm not completely sure. In our research, Athena and I came across people in history that were given these marks by the Blue Spirit. I'm not sure what they mean, but I can only hope that it's a good thing."

Rebekah gives him a sideways look, pursing out her lips. She wants something a bit more concrete than that, but she's not given much of a choice other than to accept it. "Why does the scar look like wings?"

"I'm sorry?" Elijah asks, glancing over at his sister.

"The scar," Rebekah says, inspecting her wrist. "Why does the scar look like wings?"

Elijah shakes his head. "I'm not sure," he admits.

She sighs and looks down at her wrist again. The skin is still red with the wing-like scars bumping out. The more she heals, the more that they look like wings, which isn't what Rebekah was expecting at all. She's not sure what it means but it honestly is a little beautiful in its own way. She runs her thumb over the sensitive skin, thoughtfully before looking over at Klaus. "Do you think this means she isn't going to rip our hearts from our chests?"

Klaus offers a little smile, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "I hope so."

The Blue Spirit lets go of Elijah and looks down at her fingertips, pursing her lips a bit before looking back up at the moon. She turns around to just simply gaze up at the moon with a soft, loving smile on her face before turning to look over at Klaus, sucking in a breath with bright eyes. Elijah rubs his wrist while Klaus smiles back at her, stepping closer to the Blue Spirit and looking up at the moon.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Klaus asks softly, gazing at the side of the Blue Spirit's head.

She smiles at him before looking toward the forest nearby beyond the property line. Her smile widens more as she reaches for the hem of her ripped shirt, pulling it up over her head and dropping it onto the grass as she starts walking toward the forest. She gives Klaus a backward glance, inviting him with her eyes and a little tilt of her chin to the forest before turning away to work on the tie of her waistband.

"Rebekah..." Elijah says softly.

"Hm?" Rebekah doesn't pull her eyes from her wrist.

"I know why they look like wings now," Elijah says.

"Why?" Rebekah asks, looking over at her brother, who tilts his chin toward the awakened werewolf.

"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful," Klaus sighs, shaking his head with his eyes blown wide in awe.

On her back. Caroline or the Blue Spirit, it's not clear who they are dealing with anymore. But they are holding onto the tethers of hope that somewhere beneath the blue eyes and the glowing marks that Caroline is still there. She's in there somewhere. And on her back like in the movies, is a set of scars across her shoulder blades and down the back of her arms to about the middle of her upper arms. Scars that are stark white against her already pale skin. Scars that look like wings.

"I wonder... her true form must have been some sort of bird," Elijah says softly.

"The Blue Spirit was an angel," Rebekah whispers, her blue eyes wide. She brings her hands up to her face, almost poking herself in the eye with the White Oak stake. She gives it a look before turning her awe-inspired eyes toward the other blonde's back. "She's an angel."

The Blue Spirit's bones start to break once her pajama shorts fall to the grass. They break rapidly until she's completely ripped through her undergarments until she's a full-blown wolf. She shakes and shivers until her fur is fluffed out. The dark fur on her back is now marked with white fur that looks like wings, just like her skin. She bows down in a stretch before looking over at Klaus with eyes that should be golden, but are still that eerie glowing blue.

"She wants me to go with her," Klaus says, staring back into those hypnotic blue eyes.

"Then you should go," Elijah says, nodding.

Klaus turns away and slips his shirt off as Elijah turns to look back toward the house, remembering that they at one point had an audience to see that the porch was empty. At some point during the fight Elena, Stefan, Damon, and Katherine must have run off without them noticing. Elijah frowns deeply, upset by the way this all turned out but happy to know that they are no longer right in front of him. He's not sure what he's going to do once all of this settles down.

The Blue Spirit waits patiently while Klaus shifts into a wolf before wagging her tail a bit before racing off into the forest, disappearing into the darkness. Klaus goes to chase after her but stops to look back over his shoulder at his siblings. He looks between the two of them long and hard before turning and running off after the Blue Spirit into the darkness of the forest.

Rebekah and Elijah look after Klaus for a long moment until he's completely out of sight. They stand in silence for a few minutes, shoulder to shoulder. Rebekah looks down at the stake in her hand, sucking in a deep breath and saying, "They brought him here."

Elijah also sucks in a breath. "Yes, they did."

"They brought him here to kill us."

"Yes, they did."

"They brought him here to stop us from awakening the Blue Spirit."

"Yes... they did."

Rebekah blinks a few times, blue eyes watering in anger as the muscles in her face twitch a bit. "They brought him here to stop us from trying to save Caroline's life."

Elijah nods very slowly, reaching out to put his arm around his sister. He squeezes her arm tightly, still eyeing the darkness with Rebekah. "Yes, Sister. Yes, they did."

They lapse into silence for another few moments, just relishing in the safety that they have got - no matter how temporary - and the release that comes with no longer having to run for their lives. The demon that has been haunting them for the last thousand years is finally gone. They don't have to run anymore. They don't have to be afraid anymore.

But now, instead of scared for their futures. Instead of worrying about tomorrow being the day that they lose everything. That they have to drop everything that they are doing to run for their lives because their world is blowing up around them once more as the nuclear weapon known as Mikael is soaring through the air right at the tops of their heads. All of that was over now. Now they have the chance to really live their lives without worrying about whether or not their peace will one day come to an end and they will have to uproot their lives. Now, nothing is stopping them from living. Stopping them from finding true happiness.

"I'm going to kill them, brother," Rebekah says softly, half-lidded eyes staring into the dark forest. "I don't know if it's going to be today or tomorrow, or a week from now, or a month, but one day I'm going to kill every single one of them."

Elijah lets out a long, drawn-out sigh, not saying anything for a moment before resting his cheek against her head. "I know, dear sister."

Three days.

Three days of Klaus and the Blue Spirit running around through the forest, catching and killing prey, running through the trees, roaming the lands as far as they dare before returning to the safety of their den for the night to curl up around one another to sleep peacefully. The Blue Spirit awakens inner wolves in the dogs around them. Those with more wolf's blood howl with her, and those with so little run and hide in fear.

They play fight their way through the days, running around and exploring, taking in the world as it is while avoiding humans. It's like they were in their own little slice of heaven where only they existed. Their ability to run free and the desire to do so. They were the masters of their own destinies. They decided where they went and what they did. The Blue Spirit seemed content with watching nature, roaming the forest, and watching the animals and the people without interacting too much. Cautious, careful, but observant.

But all beautiful things come to an end and on the night of the third day, they return to the Mikaelson mansion where Klaus's siblings were waiting for them at the hybrid's silent request. He knew he had to return to steadily he had been making his way back home and she followed after him, not wanting to be left alone.

The home had already been repaired from the damage that had been done to it by Mikael and the deceit of Caroline's former friends. Elijah came out to greet them, bringing clothes for Klaus to put on as he shifted back to normal while the Blue Spirit trudged into the house still as a wolf, smelling around and inspecting the area with blatant curiosity. She offered Elijah and Rebekah a look but didn't show any aggression toward either of the siblings as she made her way into the living room in her exploration and made herself nice and comfortable on the couch, curling up into a little ball, falling asleep immediately.

"Welcome back," Rebekah says as Klaus walks into the living room while buttoning up his pants.

Klaus offers her a grin, his face dirty from days without a proper bath. "Thank you, sister, I hope that the two of you weren't too lonely without us here."

"We certainly weren't lonely," Rebekah says, rolling her eyes as her nose crinkles up. "But I'll admit that I do miss the moments when the house didn't smell like a dirty, wet dog. So there is that."

She smiles at him despite her words and expression. Klaus smiles back at her before looking between his siblings. He pulls his shirt on over his head and casts a look over at the couch to see the sleeping wolf laying there unmoving aside from the gentle rise and fall of her back.

"She's wonderful," Klaus says softly. "I know that Caroline has wanted to go running together since I awakened my werewolf side but that was wonderful. It was nice to be able to just... run free. It was liberating to be part of that..." He shakes his head, turning to look back over at his siblings. "I just... I wish that it could have been with Caroline. Not with something wearing her skin."

"I saw her blue eyes as she passed me," Rebekah says softly, tucking a loose strand of long blonde hair behind her ear. "So," she says slowly, looking down at the hardwood floor before peaking up at Klaus through long, thick lashes, "...Caroline never came back?"

Klaus crosses his arms over his chest and lets out a long sigh, shaking his head. "No... no, she didn't."

"It's not over," Elijah says, confidently. "She's not back yet, but that doesn't mean she won't ever come back. Don't lose hope. Not yet. Not until we are certain that she'll never come back."

Klaus and Rebekah both look at each other, thinking the same thing about their sappy brother. Honorable Elijah who is ever the optimist. Elijah raises an eyebrow at his siblings, feeling like he has to defend himself, at least a little bit. "We don't want to give up on the chance that Caroline might come back. We want her too, so we should keep ourselves open to the possibility. Have hope."

"Yes," Rebekah says, wrapping the blanket she had over her shoulders a bit tighter. "Yes, keep holding onto hope, that way it'll hurt a lot more if we don't get our girl back." Klaus looks sad at her words, accepting them more than Elijah's. Their hope and optimism are too frail for Elijah's liking.

He notes their looks and rolls his eyes and shakes his head, looking past his brother toward the couch behind blond as movement caught his eye.

"Niklaus, look."

Klaus turns around to see the werewolf having changed back into a naked, sleeping Caroline, curled on her side. She's dirty with marks on her body from their roughhousing that she hasn't quite healed from yet but is completely unbothered as she sleeps peacefully.

Klaus walks over to her, grabbing the blanket that Rebekah offers him to drape over her naked body. He wraps her up in the blanket around her before pulling her into his arms. She groans low in her throat, wrangling her arms free from the blanket to wrap around Klaus's neck. She buries her face into the hollow of Klaus's throat, eyes squeezed shut as she lets out a little sigh.

"Hopefully that's a good sign," Rebekah offers softly.

"Hopefully," Klaus says, carrying the body of the woman he loves up into her bedroom.

The shattering of glass pulls her from the darkness. When Caroline blinks a few times, she's disoriented. She reaches out to touch the counter next to her as she stares out the double doors leading into the backyard of the house Klaus gave to her. Her mind feels sluggish and weak and the sky is brightening up as the sun has just peaked over the horizon, bathing the day with a gentle golden light bright enough to blind her.

She squeezes her eyes shut and leans against the counter trying to fully pull back into her own body. She feels weak and tired, her stomach is rumbling and her throat hurts. She licks her lips a few times as she forces her eyes to adjust to the gentle light. She looks down at her feet to see that she had knocked a glass that was on the counter off of it and it shattered into a million pieces. That had to of been that sound that pulled her back into herself. She doesn't know how she got here but thankfully knows that she's safe, just disoriented.

"Caroline?" Klaus calls the softness of his footsteps a few feet behind her. "What happened?"

"Is everything alright?" Elijah asks a few steps further behind him.

"I smell blood, what's going on?" Rebekah's voice pipes up from one of the side rooms, making her way closer. "Oh, she's awake!"

"I can see that," Klaus says, walking closer. The sound of glass crunched beneath his boots as he reaches out to her. One hand holding onto her waist and the other one grabbing her hand at her side, not the one helping support her against the counter. "Come aside, love, let's get that glass out of your feet, shall we?"

Caroline hears herself mumble as she blinks a few times, her mind finally starting to clear up from the hazy fog that was hanging over it.

Klaus's hands on her freeze. "Did... you say something, love?"

Caroline leans back into him a bit, using her hand that was once holding her up to rub at her forehead as she licks her lips, swallowing a bit before turning to look into Klaus's beautiful blue eyes as they widen, staring back into her own, full lips parting. "I said," Caroline rasps, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break the glass."

His eyes flicker back and forth between her own as this blindingly beautiful smile works its way across his face, bright blue eyes mist over as he steps closer to her side and cups her face with so much tenderness and love Caroline half expects to be dealing with an alien that has taken over the body of the man that she loves. There are relief and love and joy shining like the sun in his eyes and on his face as he leans in close to kiss her softly on the lips.

"Caroline," he whispers lovingly against her lips. "My beautiful Caroline, oh how I missed you so."

He kisses her again and pulls her into his arms, so soft and gentle, as she might break. Caroline sinks into his warmth, not sure what has gotten into him but he seems happy, so she's not too worried. She wraps her arms around his neck and lays her cheek against his.

"Did I go somewhere?" Caroline asks softly, kissing his ear as he wraps one arm around her waist and slides his free hand into her hair to keep her close.

Klaus buries his nose into her hair and neck, breathing in deeply before saying, softly, "Somewhere so far away that I thought I would never see you again. But you are back."


	18. Accept

There is freedom waiting for you,

on the breezes in the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?

-e.h

Caroline rests her cheek against Klaus's, relishing in his warmth. She feels her eyes drooping closed again as she starts to fall asleep, despite the feeling of sandpaper rubbing against her throat after every swallow. Just breathing in Klaus's amazing scent is enough to turn her into actually jelly in his arms. Klaus doesn't seem to mind, hugging her close as well, kissing her ear and her hair lovingly.

Klaus wraps his arms around her after a few long, wonderful moments, lifting her up and away from the shattered glass in and around her feet. He walks her over to the dining room table and lowers her down into one of the chairs. She leans against the table, laying her head down on her arms as he takes the offered tweezers from Rebekah and starts pulling glass from her feet and legs. Caroline couldn't feel it. Honestly, she wasn't feeling a lot of anything.

She stared down at Klaus as he works on her feet. She stares at the top of his head, blinking slowly. A glass of water lowers down in front of her nose. Caroline blinks into reality a bit. She leans back a bit and looks over at Elijah who placed the glace in front of her. She rubs at her face to wake her up a bit more before offering a little, drowsy smile at the oldest Mikaelson sibling.

"Thanks, Elijah..." She says slowly. "How did you know this was what I wanted..?"

Elijah smiles back at her softly. "It was a lucky guess, I think."

"You were getting yourself a glass of water, weren't you?" Rebekah asks as she cleans up the mess that Caroline made. She offers the drowsy blonde a half-smile, but they didn't look right. They looked almost red, like she was crying or about to start crying. Caroline smiles back, blankly, not able to fully process if such a thing was even possible as she grabs onto the offered glass of water and takes a few big gulps. She rests her head back down on her arms and looks down at Klaus.

She didn't realize that she was smiling loosely until Klaus glances up at her with a sweet little smile of his own. "What, darling? What are you staring at?"

"Nothing..." Caroline says softly. "I was just thinking about the great dream I just had. Do you want to hear about it?"

Klaus rubs some of the blood off of her feet. His cheekbones pop out with his pursed-lipped smile as he stares up at her through long, thick lashes. "I would love to hear about it."

"I dreamed that we went running." She reaches out and lightly runs her fingers across his cheek, weakly. Her tired smiles brighten when his does.

"Did you now?" Klaus asks softly.

Caroline nods, running her fingers across his cheek. "We are like birds with wings that were meant to fly. We are wolves, Klaus, running is in our nature. We... we should do it. I want to do it." She slow blinks tiredly, running a thumb under his eye. "I know it's dangerous because I don't have any control as a wolf, but you do. You can... keep me out of trouble. I just... I want us to go. Just once..."

Klaus frees up one of his hands to grab hold of the one on his face, turning to kiss her palm lovingly, his eyes sparkling up at her. "Then we shall go running on the next full moon, how about that?"

Caroline grins, reaching forward with her other hand to cup his face, feeling so much better for a moment than she has since coming back into herself not too long ago. "I want to go, Klaus. Do you mean it?"

Klaus nods, eyes shining still. "Of course, love. I'll give you everything you have ever wanted."

Caroline managed to get a bit of food into her stomach, as well as some blood from Klaus to heal her feet now that there isn't any more glass there, before going back to bed. She's not sure how it happened, but she vaguely remembers Rebekah coming with her to bed and curling up in her arms. Caroline remembers something about Rebekah calling her 'a selfish bitch' for trying to leave them, but Caroline felt so much better just hugging her friend close to her while she slips back into a peaceful slumber.

When she woke up a few hours later to Rebekah having made her grilled cheese, insisting that she eats something. Caroline felt sluggish and weak but was starving and practically wolfed it down without breathing. She didn't feel great afterward, but she definitely feels better than she was before. Then Klaus came into her room and sat down on her bed.

He laid down next to her and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. He seem to struggle with something. Something he wanted to say, or maybe he didn't want to say butfelt like he had to. He warred with himself for a long time, sighing over and over again as he struggled against himself. Caroline didn't interrupt him, not wanting to force him one way or another. So she sat in silence, snuggled up to his side, listening to him sigh as they both stare around the room in an otherwise comfortable silence.

Caroline's eyes drooped closed, falling asleep nestled in his safety and his warmth. She almost completely dropped off into the darkness of slumber as he began to talk, forcing her to open her eyes once more. He told her about the night of the full moon. He told her about how Mikael had shown up to kill him and his siblings. How it was all Elena and her friends that brought him here. He told her about how much time has passed since the night of the full moon - almost a full week. He told her about all of it. About her trying to save him, Mikael killing her, Athena calling and revealing that the Blue Spirit needed to die on the night of the full moon to be set free.

As she listened, her head resting on Klaus's chest as he quietly walked her through the night she doesn't remember, Caroline felt this feeling swelling up in her chest that she's never felt before. At least, not as it is. Swelling up strongly like an ember turning into a roaring inferno. Alongside the sadness and the pain, there is this unspeakable, unbreakable rage that has her shaking against his chest. Tears of pain and rage stream down her face and disappear into the thick, soft fabric of his light blue henley.

Caroline scrunched up Klaus's shirt in an angry fist as he tells her about the Blue Spirit coming back and killing Mikael and finally being freed. He walked her through how she marked him and his siblings.

"What does that mean?" Caroline asks through gritted teeth. She's trying to calm herself down but she is so blinded by rage. They did this. How could her friends have done this? She knows that they haven't been together again for a long time, so she knows she isn't owed any loyalty, and Klaus has made more enemies than friends here - if he's been anywhere close to making a friend - so he warrants a bit of harsh treatment but this... this is too much. She is so unbelievably mad that she can hardly think straight.

"I'm not entirely sure," Klaus admits, running a hand through her long blond hair, his other hand grips at her hip. "I think it's a pack mentality. The Cresent Clan's main bloodline had crescent moon birthmarks to symbolize their nobility. I think it might be something like that. To prove that we are all the same pack now."

Caroline presses her lips together tightly. There was something comforting about that. Something about there being a tangible connection between them all. Something like a physical mark on their bodies that connect them to her. They were all linked.

Klaus shows his left wrist to her. Caroline forces herself to let go of his bundled shirt to grab hold of his wrist to look at it better. She sees a discoloration around the scar that looks like wings. It's sharp and clear, obviously unnatural. She runs her thumb over it to feel that it is slightly elevated from the rest of the skin and it's discolored compared to the rest of his skin.

"When did this happen?"

"While we were wolves," Klaus says softly, pressing a kiss into her hair. "I didn't notice it under the fur until I returned to my human form."

Caroline brings his hand back to her waist and curls under his chin, feeling the anger from before start to well up inside of her once more. The thought of these people, her family, being taken away from her by people she thought was her friends. She snuggles closer to Klaus and hugs his close feeling the angry tears starting to build up once more but she has to blink multiple times to get them out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Klaus. I'm so sorry," she whispers, sniffling loudly.

Klaus hugs her close, running his fingers through her hair very soothingly. "You aren't to blame, love. This wasn't done by you, it was done for you. They... didn't know what would happen if you had awakened the Blue Spirit."

"Neither did you," Caroline says softly, "but you still tried to save me in the only way you knew how."

She could tell that Klaus was trying to give her friends the benefit of the doubt for her sake. She could hear the anger brimming in his voice and the tensing of his jawline against her forehead at his own words. He was angry. He was very angry, but he was trying to keep it under control. For her. And she appreciated him trying despite all of it. But she's so mad. She's so unbelievably mad that she can't even focus on how warm and fuzzy it feels to be linked with the man she loves and his siblings, which are basically her family at this point.

And that makes her madder than even that. They tried to steal all of their lives in one fell swoop and now they are stealing what tiny little bits of happiness that she can. She can't believe it.

"The Blue Spirit got to have the first run with you and not me?" Caroline grumbles, snuggling closer still.

Klaus lets out a huff of a laugh, hugging her tighter. "I'm sorry." He kisses her forehead before saying, "The Blue Spirit told me that we were mates. I think that's part of the reason we are so obsessed with one another."

Caroline snorts. "You're the one trolling for young girls in bars, weirdo," she jokes, feeling the snakes of anger in her chest burst into butterflies. She's never heard of anything like that. "Wh... what's a mate?"

"I'd been looking through tomes and sifting through what I've got on werewolf lore, but I haven't really found anything on it yet, but while I'll keep looking..." Klaus trails off slowly, "I don't think it's a bad thing."

Caroline hikes her leg across Klaus's, trying to get as close to him as possible, finally smiling since they started this discussion. "I don't either. But... I want to think it means like a soul mate. Like we were meant to be together. I would like to think that, at least."

"That you and I are soul mates? Meant to be together forever? Yes, I very much like the sound of that," Klaus rumbles in her ear. She can hear the smile in his voice, which makes her smile more. She's not sure how he does it, but he always seems to know how to make her feel better. In just about everything. She's not sure how he does it but always seems to be able to just make her happy.

"You're okay with the idea of spending the rest of your immortal life with me?" Caroline jests, looking up at his face.

Klaus grins down at her, blue eyes sparkling. "I can't imagine it any other way."

Caroline feels someone squeeze her waist, pulling her from her sleep. She looks up at Klaus, who was staring down at her through hooded eyes.

"Hm..?" Caroline hums groggily, squinting at him in the waning light filtering in from outside.

"Your mother is here," Klaus says, rubbing her back. "Do you want to see her?"

Caroline groans as she stretches out all her limbs as far as they can go. She holds herself stretched out as far as they'll go. It feels good as her muscles stretch and her bones crack and pop. It's hard for her to focus on how good her body feels to uncoil from her near fetal position for the last couple of hours with Klaus chasing her as she rolls away to wrap himself around her. Caroline laughs lightly as he kisses her hair, cheek, neck, and the back of her shoulder. Caroline looks over her shoulder at him and accepts the kiss he places on her lips.

"I want to see my mom," Caroline mumbles.

"Then go see her," Klaus laughs, kissing her cheek.

"I don't want to get out of bed, though," Caroline sighs, not wanting to leave, but also knowing that she has to go see her mom. Liz has no idea how close she was to losing her daughter, and Caroline swore that she was going to let go of her anger. She has to go see her mother. As much as she would love to stay in bed without ever having to leave, she knows that she has to. At least it's Liz and not... not anyone else. If it's Elena or Bonnie or Stefan... well, Caroline would probably go complete wolf and tear them apart. She can't see any of them right now.

But Liz... she'll get out of bed to see her mom.

She kisses the back of his hand before fully extracting herself fully from Klaus, stretching a bit again before standing up. She feels tired and weak, but she can't lie in bed all day, every day. She goes into her attached bathroom to brush her hair and teeth, apply some deodorant, and try to make herself somewhat presentable before heading toward the door. She pauses, casting a look over at this sultry hybrid who offered her a quirky half-smile as he lazes in her bed, watching her go. He waggles his fingers at her as she shakes her head and exits the room.

Caroline makes her way downstairs to hear Rebekah talking to her mother.

"How is she?"

"Good," Rebekah says softly, leading Liz into one of the sitting rooms. "You know that the nights of the full moon take a lot out of her. My brother has been looking after her."

Caroline stops, peaking down through the rails into the sitting room to see her mom, in full uniform, sitting down on one of the couches, across from Rebekah. It feels like forever since she's seen her mother when it has only been a few days. Caroline hasn't been able to offer her mother a lot of thought over the years without being angry about it. Without being enraged by the cards in life that she was dealt, in her own way, that is. But while she thought that she was dying, she was finally able to let go of a lot of that anger that has been building up inside of herself.

Not all of it is gone, she knows, that's going to take some time - a lot of time, maybe - but enough that she's willing to keep going. She's willing to see if there is something more that can come of her relationship with her mother.

"I know your perception is skewed because he's your brother, but she's my daughter and your her friend," Liz says slowly, lacing her fingers together on her lap. Liz stares at Rebekah who nods for her to continue. "Is he looking after her? Caroline, I mean? I know she's been out on her own for so long and I'm not in the best position to question her life choices, but she's... okay, right? He's not a bad guy, is he?"

Rebekah stares at Liz for a long moment, trying to decide on what she's going to say, warring with herself on how she wanted to respond. Rebekah looks at Liz for a long moment before resting her elbows on her knees and leaning forward. "My brother is a bad guy, Sheriff Forbes. He has done a lot of bad things but he absolutely adores your daughter."

Liz sighs looking down at her regulation black shoes, letting out a sigh. "I don't know if that makes me feel better or not."

Rebekah smiles softly. "Caroline is beloved in this household. Trust me," Rebekah says, amused, "our family isn't unanimously in favor of just anyone. Your daughter is very special."

Liz smiles back at her softly. "I've known since the moment she was born. I just..." she blinks slowly, eyes dropping to the hardwood floor, rolling her thumbs around one another. "I just want her to be happy. Out of everything in the world that I want, what I want most, is for her to be happy. It's all I have ever really wanted. It's hard to get her to open up about anything, really, and that's mostly my fault, but whenever I can get her to talk about him. Klaus, I mean, she seems to be... happy." Liz smiles a bit more gently.

"He makes me happy," Caroline says, finally exiting the stairs and walking into the sitting room. "They all do. Elijah is great, like a big brother. Rebekah is my best friend," Caroline catches the smile the other blonde sends her way and sends one back before turning her blue eyes toward her mother, "And Klaus... well, he's the best. He's been nothing but kind and wonderful to me. They all have. I'm very fortunate."

Liz looks over at her with worry shining in her eyes but she tries to hide it behind a gentle smile. "I'm happy to hear that." She turns to face Caroline as the youngest in the room walks over to sit next to her. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"I'm good. I'm just tired," Caroline admits, rubbing at her shoulder. "The full moon has always been tough on me, but this one was tougher than most."

"Why's that?" Liz asks, tilting her head a bit while looking at her daughter.

Caroline offers a little smile, leaning back into the couch, tired. She folds herself onto the couch, still tired. A small part of her wanted to tell Liz about it. She wanted to tell her mom all about herself. It would be a silly way to connect to her mother, but a part of her really wanted her to. But she also hadn't fully digested all of this information herself, she wasn't ready to explain it to someone else who probably wouldn't understand either. But it has to mean something that Caroline wants to talk about it. Maybe she's forgiving Liz more than she thought. Which is a good thing.

"It's okay," Caroline says easily, offering her mother a little smile, feeling slightly better about their own relationship. "I'll be fine. We can talk more about it later. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"You haven't been feeling well," Liz says easily, covering up her disappointment at being brushed off easily enough. "These last few days, I mean. I'm not a werewolf but my immune system is pretty good. I have been worried about you. Do you really think that it was just a stomach bug?"

Caroline nods. "Yeah, I think I'm all good now. I'm just tired. Another day or so and I should be back to normal." As normal as she can be sharing her body with an ancient spirit. Honestly, she doesn't feel any different. She still just feels like herself. Which she's happy about, but she's not sure why she doesn't feel different. She should because everything is different now. Maybe not in leaps and bounds, but at least enough that it should be noticed. Right?

Liz offers a thin smile, not really comforted by her words but figures that they aren't close enough to push on it. Even though she really wants to. Caroline is thankful for Liz trying to understand, offering the space needed to keep their relationship on the right track. They can get to the point of being mother and daughter again, but that's going to take time.

"How are you doing?" Liz asks, looking at Caroline through long lashes. "I know you're tired... but are you okay?"

Caroline nods, reaching forward to take Liz's hand and give it a bit of a squeeze, which seems to make Liz happy and it helps Caroline feel a little bit better. "I'm good. Rebekah, Klaus, and Elijah take great care of me. They always do."

Rebekah smiles from the other couch, casting a look over at Elijah who gives her a tiny smile back. Caroline felt better having them all there with her.

As tired as she was, Caroline wasn't ready to let her mother go home just yet, especially since she stopped in just to see if Caroline was doing alright. Especially considering how close Caroline was to never seeing her mother again. They could do for a bit more bonding time. Maybe then, Caroline will be comfortable enough to start talking to her mom more. But they'll have to see until then.

"Are you going back to work after this?" Caroline asks, giving her mom's hand another squeeze.

Liz shakes her head. "No, sweetie. I'm just heading home for the evening. Why?"

"I'm not much of a cook, but do you want to stay for dinner? I can't imagine that you've eaten recently with the way your stomach is growling," Caroline says playfully, grinning when Liz blushes a bit at being caught.

"You don't have to go out of your way, Caroline, I'll just go home and eat," Liz says, but wraps her hand around Caroline's tightly, not ready to part ways just yet.

"Stay and eat with me," Caroline says. "It's nice of Elijah and Rebekah and Klaus to eat a little bit to make it feel normal, but I know that it doesn't do anything for them. It would be nice to have a meal with someone who actually needs to eat, so really, you would be doing me a favor."

Liz smiles softly, blue eyes sparkling. "I would love to stay for dinner." She looks down at their hands, a soft expression on her face, obviously happy about all of this, which makes Caroline happy too. This could be good for them. Then something occurs to her, and she looks up at them, looking at Caroline with thin dark eyebrows pulled together tightly in confusion. "Wait, what do you mean food doesn't do anything for them?"

"Oh..." Caroline looks over at Rebekah who was giving her the classic, you-messed-up-baby-werewolf look, "um... about that..."

Liz stares at the three Originals sitting across from her at the table. Her food is sitting in front of her untouched as she stares back at them. Caroline made them dinner while Rebekah - who Liz met more than a handful of times through Caroline - basically told her the story of their lives. At least the beginning of it, and how they are the first Vampires. The Originals.

Liz sat there quietly, listening to her as she talked, trying to absorb all that information. Caroline, even having already heard all three versions from all three siblings, still listened with rapt attention. There was always just a little bit more to the story each time they tell it again. Something that hadn't occurred to them or they didn't think was important enough to add the last time that fills in more of the story of their lives. The time that they lived in, so long ago, that honestly, Caroline can't even imagine it.

They lived in small villages, survived off the lands, hunted for food, and harvested crops. Their father was an actual Viking who pillaged villages and fought in battles. There weren't really nationalities or governments. They were just people that did it all. They relied on others and themselves for anything and everything. It was such an interesting time to be alive - for people with survival skills.

Not Caroline, though. She wouldn't be able to survive. Sure, she lived on the streets, but she didn't have to hunt for her own food or anything like that. She would literally die out there.

But that's not to say that she isn't interested in hearing more about it.

It's Klaus's life. It's Rebekah and Elijah's lives. And Caroline loves them, so she loves hearing about their lives.

Klaus rests his arm over the back of Caroline's chair as all four of them stare at Liz as she tries to process everything that she's learned. Caroline is honestly proud of how well Liz is taking this. Caroline can tell that a part of Liz wants to get up and run away as far and as fast as she can - preferably with Caroline in tow, no doubt. And there is a very real possibility that she's simply paralyzed in shock, but Caroline wants to believe that she's simply fighting the instinct.

Liz turns blue eyes toward Caroline when Rebekah finally finished their story.

"Are you... okay, sweetie? In a house full of vampires, as a werewolf?" Liz asks carefully. She looks over at the three siblings, offering a half-apologetic look. "No offense, of course."

"None was taken," Rebekah says, while Klaus and Elijah just share a look with one another.

Caroline sucks in a breath, knowing that this was something was probably going to have to say once they started talking about it. Thankfully, Caroline has been thinking about it since Rebekah started telling her story. She knew that she would have to say something to her mom.

"Mom," Caroline says, staring at her mom from across the table, "do you remember when I brought Rebekah over the first time? Do you remember us all sitting in the kitchen talking for hours? Do you remember me talking about her and Klaus and Elijah while the guys were gone doing whatever it was they left town for? We had fun, didn't we?"

Liz blinks, confused. "Yes?"

"And earlier, you came to see me, but you spoke with Rebekah first because you were worried about me and you trusted that she would care enough about me to confirm one way or another if her brother was a good guy or not, right?"

Liz casts a slow look at Klaus, considering, before turning her eyes back to Caroline. "Yes."

"She's the same person, mom," Caroline says gently. "She's been an Original Vampire for a thousand years. She was one when you first met. She was one when she came over to talk with you. She was one when she opened the door this evening. None of that changed. The only thing that did, was now you know."

Liz stares at Caroline for a long moment, looking conflicted still, despite Caroline's words.

"They are over a thousand years old," Caroline says, staring back into Liz's eyes. "They aren't the bastions of perfect people and life choices, but those are cultivated from their own choices. If you have to dislike them - hell if you have to hate them - hate them for those things. The things that they controlled. But don't hate them for being vampires, mom. They had no greater control becoming vampires than I do being a werewolf."

Liz raises her eyebrows slightly in consideration. She sucks in a slow, deep breath, lowering her eyes to the cooling food in front of them. Caroline had managed to finish it right before the end of the story, but no doubt it's going to be cold by the time this is all said and done. Not that it really mattered. It wasn't going to be winning any sort of awards or anything.

"They are my family, mom," Caroline says softly. "Despite being dark and twisty, Rebekah's words, not mine, they are my family. Elijah is the big brother I always wanted. Rebekah is my best friend. And Klaus..." Caroline trails off, not sure if there was really any words that could completely describe their relationship to a 'T'. At least a word she was brave enough to use yet. "Klaus is special. They mean the world to me, and I trust them with my life. So, to answer your question, yes. I am okay. I am okay in a house full of vampires because they aren't just vampires to me. They are my family and I love them. I know it'll take time, but I want you to love them too."

Liz sucks in another breath, lacing her fingers together on the table as she works her way through everything that has been said. She looks over to the large french double doors leading outside to the backyard with faraway eyes. She blinks a few times slowly before looking back over at Caroline and nodding slowly. "Okay."

Caroline's eyebrow raises toward her hairline. "Okay?"

Liz nods. "Okay. I don't have to like it, but I accept that things don't work out exactly how I want them to. I am not exactly the bastion of good decision making either. I accept that they are your family. I accept that if I want you, I have to accept everything that comes with it. I will find a way to understand." She nods, more to herself than to Caroline. "I love you and you love them. If that's how it is, that's how it is."

Caroline feels a smile working across her face, she reaches next to herself to grab on to Klaus's hand, hardly able to contain the excitement that zips through her at the idea of everything finally starting to work out. Rebekah and Elijah both look at each other. Elijah's expression is soft while Rebekah smiles sweetly, looking like she's about one more sappy thing away from crying. Just another thing that Caroline loves about her. "That's how it is."

Liz smiles back, thinly, but hopeful. "Give me some time to digest it, but I accept it."


End file.
